
Class _ 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



UNTOLD TALES 
OF CALIFORNIA 



Short Stories Illustrating 
Phases of Life Peculiar to 
Early Days in the West 



Embalmed in Book that they May Remain 
When the Actors are Gone J> J' J- J- 



By ]. A, FILCHER 



J903 



7i 









^T^O the sturdy men who weathered the wikls 
of the West, and laid the foundatiou of 
the great Pacific States, is this little volume 
most revereutlv dedicated. 



COPYRIGHTED 
1903 



PREFACE 

INCIDENTS which occurred in the earl}- days 
of California tell the story of the condition 
of society- at that time, and the character of the 
men who hewed this State out of a wilderness, 
better than could he told in volumes of descrijv 
tive matter. 

The men who were participants in, or at least 
witnesses of, many characteristic tragedies or 
other thrilling or interesting happenings of the 
earlier California life, and who liaA^e fascinated 
succeeding generations by their narratives, are 
fast passing to their reward, and very soon 
some of the richest true stories of Western life 
will be told for the last time unless they can be 
embalmed in literature while at least a I'eAv of 
the actors are yet here to authenticate them. 
"Untold Tales," which is to say unrecorded 
tales of California, is a theme worthy of the 
ablest pen, and the data necessary to its com- 
pleteness is deserving of extended research. It 
may now be too late to do the subject full jus- 
tice, as doubtless many interesting stories are 



gone with those whose words or deeds created 
them. 

It is with the view of recording a few inci- 
dents and happenings peculiar to early life in 
California, which otherwise might soon be for- 
gotten, that the following brief stories are writ- 
ten, and not with any hope of doing the subject 
that full justice which ought to be done by some 
one who has more talent and time to devote to it. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Sam Astox 9 

II. Justice vs. Law 15 

III. The liMPERiLED Mixer - - - - 24 

IV. Lost Sheep 32 

V. EXCOUXTERING WlLD AxiMALS - - - 39 

VI. Justice Joxes 46 

VII. Mouxtaix Holdups 58 

An Irishman's Nerve - - - 58 

Poor Fool Hardy 60 

Brave Dan Daly 64 

Last Holdup at Robber Bend - - 68 

VIII. Teamster Stories . - . . 75 

Teamster Black 83 

Mule vs. Horse 92 

A Teamster Convert - - - 105 

Jack Robinson 115 

Hair Lip Pete .... 122 

IX. Hiram Hawkixs 126 

X. The Two Verdicts - - - . 132 

XL Hearts Were Trumps - - - 138 

XII. A Twelve- Year-Old Hero - - 148 




SAM ASTON — SEE PAGE 14. 



CHAPTEK I. 



SAM ASTON. 

3 AM was an early California character, strik- 
ingly fitting the times and conditions. 
Physically he was a fine specimen of manhood. 
He was tall, muscular, and as straight as an In- 
dian. He had a good head, a fine face, and an eye 
that was all love or all vengeance according to 
his emotions. He had great will power and 
his better nature dominated most of his acts. 
When aroused, however, he was a tiger, and 
woe to him who stood in his way. Whether 
mild or mad he seemed to know no such word 
as fear. Fortunately, however, he was seldom 
mad. Others in his presence might lose their 
temper and swear and fight and even shoot, but 
Sam on such occasions was usually cool, col- 
lected and good natured. While known to be 
afraid of no man and a match for any, his 
efforts were always for peace. As Mark Twain 



10 

said of Buck Fensliaw, "he would have peace if 
he had to fight for it." That is, Sam wouhl in- 
terfere if needs be to stop an unequal fight or a 
shooting scrape where he saw some good man 
might be needlessly killed. Hp was always for 
fair play. 

Such a man, as may be supposed, was per- 
sonally very popular. But with all his natural 
endowments he could neither read nor write. 
This lack of learning, however, seemed to make 
no difference with the men in the mines when 
it came to the matter of choosing the first Sheriff 
of Placer, when the county was organized soon 
after the admission of California into the Union. 
Sam was overwhelmingly elected and in spite 
of his illiteracy he filled the office very accept- 
ably. 

Early in his term, and before the County had 
time to build even a jail, Sam arrested a China- 
man for sluice robbing. A little earlier the 
culprit would have been hung without ceremony 
to the limbs of the nearest tree, but now Cali- 
fornia was a State of the Union, it had a con- 
stitution and a code of laws, and officers chosen 



11 

to .'ulniinister thorn. Accordiuf^ to tlui inor.-il 
code of the earliest miners, any man, whether 
white, black, red or yellow, who would rob a 
miner's sluice deserved to be Imng on the spot, 
and this course was generally adopted. But 
the moral code had been superseded by the 
written code, and the law officers were bound to 
see that the offending Chinaman be tried and 
treated according to the written code. Hence, 
while one of Sam's deputies stood guard over 
the sluice robber a jury was impaneled to try 
the case. 

Out under the si>reading branches of a great 
live oak tree, the stump of which has been 
pointed to until recently as the scene of the 
earliest court trials in Placer County, the jur>' 
assembled, and with the judge seated on a camp 
stool and the jury on a log, the trial proceeded. 
The District Attorney prosecuted and a young 
lawyer (afterwards famous as a District and 
Superi(3r Judge) defended. The testimony 
showed that the Chinaman had been caught in 
the act, and after brief arguments by the attor- 
neys and a few words of instruction bv the 



12 

Judge his case was submitted to the jury. They 
retired to the shade of another tree near by to 
deliberate, and in a few minutes returned with 
a verdict of "guilty." 

The case now was up to the Court. He could 
not hang the Chinaman, and the county had no 
jail. Here was a dilemma. The Judge reflected 
for a few moments, and then as though relieved 
1)y a bright thought, he said : 

"This man stands convicted of a very serious 
and aggravating offense, and yet under the laAvs 
of California we cannot hang him. The statute 
suggests imprisonment, and yet we have no 
prison. His offense must be discouraged. The 
miner, with no means to guard his claims except 
at the expense of needed sleep, and with no safe 
in which to lock his dust, must be protected 
from the depredations of thieves. To this end 
an example must be made of this offender. I 
think there can be no criticism if we administer 
to him severe corporal punishment. I, there- 
fore, sentence this Chinaman to receive fifty 
lashes on the bare back, to be administered by 
the Sheriff, and I direct that he exert his full 



physical force in executing the sentence and use 
the best l")lacksnake he can i)rocure for the pur- 
pose." 

When the Chinamen in camp heard that their 
countryman was to be whipped, a proceeding to 
them more humiliating and disgraceful than 
death, they became greatly agitated, and excite- 
ment and noise in Chinatown ran high. They 

hurried to the young attorney who had been 
employed to defend their countryman and 
eagerly asked if he could not stop the whipping. 

"I can appeal the case," he said deliberately. 

"How muchie?" "how muchie?" they chimed 
in chorus. 

"Oh, about 1500." 

A hurried canvas resulted in collecting the 
dust, and after being weighed to satisfy the 
attorney that there was $500 worth, the latter 
took the gold and deliberately started up the 
hill to the cabin which Avas used by the ShorifT 
as office and headquarters. 

On arriving there he said: 

"Sam, you needn't execute the sentence on 
that Chinaman, I am going to appeal the case." 



14 

"You are going to what?" ([ueried Aston. 

"I am going to appeal the case." 

"Peel be d nd," said the Sheriff. "I 

peeled that scoundrel and turned him loose half 
an hour ago." 

It is not recorded whether the attorney ever 
returned the $500 in gold dust to the Chinamen 
or not. 

Aston's end was as tragic and sad as his life 
had been eA^entful and romantic. Like many 
another big hearted man his success proved his 
undoing. His convivial habits led to excesses. 
In later years he became a wreck. The last 
time the writer saw him he asked for the Y>rico 
of a drink. A few days later he was found in a 
little back store room of a mountain saloon. He 
was lying on his back with his mouth directly 
under the faucet of a barrel of whiskey. The 
faucet was turned, his mouth was full to the 
edge of his lips, a pool of liquor was all around 
him, and Sam Aston was dead. 



CHAPTER II. 



JUSTICE VS* LAW* 

^WAY up in old Tuolumne a case occurred 
^ in earl}' days which indicates the character 
of the men and the ideas of justice that dom- 
inated many of the mining communities at that 
time. 

A quiet, unobtrusive stranger came into camp 
and, after looking around a day or two, 
he bought a claim and went to work. Before he 
had time to make much out of his purchase he 
bought two more claims, and soon afterwards 
another, and a little later still another. For 
each purchase he "pungled" down the dust, a 
circumstance which gave rise to the very natural 
conclusion that he must have plenty of money. 

He was a good man for the camp and was 
appreciated as such, especially as his dealings 
were fair and his general conduct above re- 
proach. He was regarded as somewhat of a 



16 
mystery, but what did the miners care who he 
was or where he came from, or what his ante- 
cedents were, so long as he had money and 
showed a willingness to invest it and a disposi- 
tion to treat everybody fairly. 

He lived alone in a little cabin which he 
bought with one of the claims. In discussing 
the subject of his wealth, and its supposed loca- 
tion, the opinion was often expressed that hid- 
den in or around that cabin there was a good 
deal of gold. 

The stranger wore well on acquaintance. The 
better the boys knew him the better they liked 
him. He attended strictly to his own business, 
while treating every body, whether day laborer, 
mine owner or gambler, with equal considera- 
tion and respect. 

One morning he did not show up at his claims, 
and a man who was sent to ascertain the cause 
found his disfigured remains lying on the cabin 
lloor in a pool of blood. The alarm was given 
and a hasty investigation showed plainly that 
he had been murdered. His head was cnished 
in, his throat was cut, and there were several 



17 
knife wounds in the body, any one of which 
wonld have proven fatal. The contents of the 
cabin were badly disarranged, showing that 
after committing the crime the murderer had 
turned everything upside down in his search for 
hidden treasure. The bed ticking was ripped 
open and the floor torn up, so thorough had 
been the search for the dead man's money. 

As may be supposed the camp was desper- 
ately aroused and a miners' meeting was called 
immediately to determine on a course of proce- 
dure. In those days it was customary to refer 
everything to a miners' meeting. 

Suspicion pointed to a young gambler in the 
camp, who had recently been playing in hard 
luck, and when he did not put in an appearance 
at the meeting and inquiry failed to discover 
anybody who had seen him that day, it was 
settled that he was the culprit, and at once the 
miners resolved themselves into a posse to 
scour the country and hunt down the missing 
gambler and bring him in dead or alive. 

Men started in all directions, some on foot 
and some on horseback, and before night the 



18 
suspect was found and escorted back to camp. 
The blood stains on his clothes were frightful 
telltales, and vet he refused to affirm or deny 
that he knew anything about the murder. 

He was immediately taken to the tent, built 
partly of logs and partly of canvas, of the Jus- 
tice of the Peace, and while eight or ten men re- 
mained to guard him the constable went out to 
summon a jury. 

There was a character in the camp, a well 
educated Virginian, by the name of Llewellyn. 
He was the embodiment of politeness and dig- 
nity when sober, but he was seldom sober. In 
his cups he was less dignified, but if possible 
more polite. He was in his cups this day. He 
walked into the justice court and addressing 
the waiting magistrate, said : 

"If it please your honor I hope you will give 
this man a fair and impartial trial and be quick 
about it, as the boys are anxious to have the 
hanging." 

The Justice's name was Stone. He usually 
wore a silk tile and assumed some dignity him- 
self. He said to Llewellyn: "I cannot allow 



y 



19 

you to come in here and talk that way in the 
presence of the prisoner. Yon must sit down 
and be quiet or leave the coui*t room." 

"Me sir, me?" said the Virginian; "why, 
Judge, you don't know, sir, who you are talking 
to. What do you represent? The law, sir; 
simply the law ; while I, sir, I come from the 
people outside, and represent Justice — fair, im- 
pai-tial Justice — that beautiful goddess that 
ever holds the scales equally balanced and gives 
to each and every man according to his desei-ts." 

"Will you please get out of here?" said the 
Justice. 

"I will not, sir, I represent Justice, I tell you, 
and Justice has no fear of the law, though at 
times she may shy a little at the courts." 

"I want to say," put in the Justice, "if you 
don't get out of here I shall have to put you 
out." 

"Judge, I am surprised that you should speak 
that way. Don't you know, sir, I could whip 
both this Couii and the Constable if I wanted 
to in less than five minutes. I, sir, am a Vir- 
ginian, and I can fight, sir; I can fight." 



•20 

" You can get out of here," said the Justice, 
rising and going toward the good natured but 
slightly inebriated intruder. 

Those present had been rather amused at 
the colloquy between the Justice and old man 
Llewellyn, but when they saw there might be 
an encounter between the two, four or five of 
those who were ostensibly guarding the prisoner 
jumped up to inteii'ere. 

At this very moment a carriage, to which was 
hitched four good horses, halted suddenly in 
front of the door, and in an instant three men 
jumped out and came bolting into the tent. 
This unexpected interruption added to the con- 
fusion, and before the Justice or the guards 
could realize what it all meant the three men 
grabbed the prisoner, and rushing him into the 
carriage drove off on a gallop in the direction 
of Sonora, the county seat. 

It developed that the three men who had 
thus, as it were, kidnapped the prisoner, were 
Sheriff Swope and two of his most trusted 
deputies. 

News had reached Sonora of the threatened 



21 

lyncliing of the accused murderer, and witli all 
haste the Sheriff had i)roceeded to the camp in 
hopes of preventing the possibilit}' of a second 
tragedy. 

The capture of the culprit by the Sheriff of 
the county aroused the miners to bitter feelings 
of resentment. Before they had been deter- 
mined; now they were desperate. What they 
would have done to the accused if left alone is 
hard to tell, but now if they could overtake and 
capture him his fate was sealed ; and they de- 
termined to try. Blood had been shed, an in- 
nocent and popular miner had been butchered 
in his bed, and nothing but blood could wash 
out the stain. 

At a miners' meeting called almost before the 
Sheriff's carriage was out of sight, a motion 
prevailed that every man who had a horse and 
a gun should stai-t immediately in pursuit of 
the stealthy and brave Sheriff' and return the 
prisoner at nil hazards. 

There Avas a. trail to Sonora much shorter 
than the wagon road, and down this trail the 
horsemen started on a fast gallop, one after an- 



22 
other, as soon as they could get ready for the 
chase. 

At a point about six miles by the trail and 
twice six miles by the road, the road and the 
trail crossed. 

When the advance horsemen reached this 
point they judged from the tracks that the 
Sheriff had not gotten that far and the>' con- 
cluded to wait his arrival. While they waited 
reinforcements kept coming up, and when the 
peace officer finally reached the spot he found 
his path blocked by a determined band of his 
once admiring constituents. 

It is unnecessary to relate all that lia])])ened 
at this critical and interesting juncture. 
Enough to say is that the horsemen returned 
to camp late that night, and the next morning 
travelers on the road who passed the place 
where they and the Sheriff had met, saw hang- 
ing to a limb the body of Jesse Starke, and they 
knew that the murder of Madison Parker had 
been avenged. 

In the five minutes allowed the prisoner in 
which to say his prayers he confessed all. 



23 
"I will tell you, sir, I will toll you," said 
Llewellyn when he heard of the prisoner's fate, 
"justice is mighty and will prevail. The law is 
all right, sometimes, but in case of an atrocious 
and unprovoked murder like the one which has 
just disgraced our camp. Justice, sir, is the only 
adequate remedy. Had the law retained that 
man there is no telling what might have hap- 
pened." 



CHAPTER III. 



THE IMPERILED MINER. 

TT Avas in the fall of 1854 that a party of pros- 
pectors left Hangtown for San Juan, in 
Nevada County, prompted by the report of rich 
strikes in the latter locality. They traveled on 
foot, using burros and mules to pack their grub 
and mining tools. They proceeded without in- 
cident until they reached a point near Grass 
Valley, where, on the banks of a small stream 
that trickled down a shallow ravine from a 
neighboring spring, they pitched their camp for 
the night. 

In the party were two young men, Oscar 
Olsen and Henry Geiger, who had come to- 
gether from the same neighborhood in the East, 
who had attended the same school when boys, 
who knew each other's people, and who were 
friends. 

The other members of the company were 



25 

strangers to these two boys until tliey started 
on this trip. A common impulse to leave 
Hangtown for the diggings of North San Juan 
at the same time had naturally thrown them 
together, otherwise there was nothing in com- 
mon between them. 

On the night in (juestion, the mule owned l\\' 
Olsen and Geiger, and used by them to pack 
their outfit, broke his halter soon after being 
staked out and wandered off into the darkness 
and the bnish. 

The animal was not missed until after the 
boys had eaten their supper, when Olsen started 
out to try and find him. 

The others tried to persuade him from going, 
insisting that the mule would not go far from 
the camj), but the good natured Olsen gave no 
heed to their remonstrances, remarking as he 
started away that he Avould sleep better if he 
knew the long eared brute was safe. 

Accordingly, he climbed the hill in the direc- 
tion Avhich he supposed the missing animal had 
taken and was soon out of sight and out of 
hearing. 



26 

An hour passed and Olsen did not return, 
but it was not until the exx>iration of two hours 
that his companions begun to grow a little anxi- 
ous. At the end of three hours the fear was 
expressed that he had fallen into a shaft, or pos- 
sibly been killed or captured by Indians. 

Geiger by this time was very restless and 
wanted everybody to join him in a hunt for 
his friend. The others would not listen to the 
suggestion, insisting that it would be a fool- 
hardy venture, but promised when daylight 
came they would not move on until they had 
scoured the surrounding country and ascer- 
tained, if possible, the fate of the young miner. 

After agreeing to this arrangement, all hands 
went to bed, but Geiger did not sleep. Visions 
of the missing man bleeding from wounds made 
by piercing arrows, or mangled and bruised and 
dying at the bottom of some deep shaft, dis- 
turbed his rest, and try as he might he could 
not lose himself to the world and its troubles. 
As the night wore on his condition became pain- 
ful, and at last, unable to endure the suspense 
and anxiety any longer, he quietly pulled on 



27 
his boots, donuod his coat and started over the 
hill iu the direction taken by his friend. 

He wandered aimlessly here and there until 
streaks of gray begun to show themselves in 
the Eastern sky, and then he turned his steps 
towards the camp intent on arousing his com- 
panions and pursuing the search more system- 
atically. 

He had not gone far when he was stai-tled by 
a subdued cry which seemed to come to him 
from out of the eai-th. Suddenly he stopped 
and listened, lifter a little while the sound 
was repeated, but he was uncertain of the direc- 
tion from which it came. Still he listened and 
again he heard the sound. He hallooed back, 
and almost like an echo the cry was heard again 
louder and more distinctly than before. 

"01sen!itis 01sen!"he ejaculated, involun- 
tarily, and started eagerly in the direction from 
which the sound seemed to come. 

As he proceeded he heard repeated cries 
for help, each one, though subdued, being 
louder and more distinct than the others. At 
length, guided by the cries that were now com- 



28 
ing to him at more frequent intervals and in 
api)ealing tones, lie came to the brink of a shaft, 
and, looking down, he saw his friend clinging 
desperately to a root that grew across the side 
nearly six feet below the surface. Though in n, 
critical position he was alive and uninjured. 
He had no idea of the depth of the shaft and 
was afraid to drop lest he might l^e dashed to 
death at the bottom. 

In pitiful tones Olsen begged his friend to 
try and get him out as soon as possible, as he 
could hold on but little longer. 

He explained to his rescuer how the night 
before he had fallen into the shaft, had first 
caught the grass that grew around the edge, 
felt the root with his dangling feet, and when 
the grass gave way had, with a desperate effort, 
caught the root and hung to it all night with a 
tenacity strengthened by the fear of impending 
death. 

The friend could conceive of no better means 
of rescue than to tear his clothes in strings and 
thus make a rope by which he might pull the 
imperiled Olsen to the surface. As he worked 



29 
at this task, regardless of the cost and scarcity 
of wearing apparel iu the mines at that time, he 
encouraged the almost exhausted miner to be 
brave and hold on onl.y a few minutes longer 
and all would be well. 

"I am holding; I am holding!" faintly re- 
l)lied the almost despairing Olsen, "but be as 
quick as you can, for I cannot stand this much 
longer." 

Geiger was quick; he worked with all his 
might, bringing his knife into play to facilitate 
the rope making. 

Finally, when all was read.^' the imin'ovised 
rope was lowered and Olsen was commanded to 
seize hold of it. 

With an expression of mingled hope and des- 
pair the imperiled man looked up and pitifully 
protested that he was afraid if he let go of the 
root with one hand to grasp the rope, the other, 
being cramped and numb, could not support 
him, and he would fall. 

"But you must," insisted Geiger, "it is your 
only hope, and you must. Be brave now, and 
make the effort ; hold on tight and I am sure I 



30 
can pull YOU out. There now; here goes! 
That's it!" 

Olsen tried. Encouraged by his friend he 
made the attempt. He felt that he was hanging 
over the brink of eternity, and however uncer- 
tain might be the success of an eff oii} for deliver- 
ance it must be made, — so he tried. 

His fears, however, were not groundless. As 
he loosened one hand from the root to grasp 
the rope the clasp of the other slowly gave way, 
and realizing that after all his exertions he was 
going, he gave a desj)airing cry, and dropped. 

Imagine yourself, reader, with the black cap 
over your face and the rope around your neck 
waiting for the trap to fall which is to launch 
you into eternity, and then imagine that when 
the trap did fall the jar awoke you and you 
found it was all a dream. 

If 3'^ou know how you would feel after such 
an experience 3^ou can form some idea of how 
Oscar Olsen felt when, by reason of his swollen 
arms, his cramped hands and exhausted condi- 
tion, he had to let go at the moment of promised 



31 
deliverance and experience the tortures that ho 
had imagined. 

Suddenly he found his downward course 
stopped almost before it commenced, and made 
the discovery that during all the agonizing 
hours he had been holding to that root, with al- 
most a death grasp, his feet had been dangling 
only a few inches from the bottom of the shaft. 



CHAPTEE IV. 



LOST SHEER 

TT was before Calif orniu liad been finallj^ ad- 
mitted into the Union tliat a gentleman in 
well worn clerical garb landed from a trading 
vessel at San Francisco and announced that his 
purpose in coming to this Western shore was to 
help disseminate the doctrine of Christianity 
among the primitive red men of the forest. In 
other words, he was an advance missionary. 

The peninsular was occupied by the Jesuits 
and he concluded that he would find a more 
fi-uitful, if not a more congenial, field some- 
where in the interior. Accordingly he crossed 
the bay to what are now the Marin shores and 
slowly wended his way toward the north. He 
had not proceeded far until he came to a camp 
of Americans. They were probably some of 
the boys who about that time conceived the idea 
of setting up a republic of their own under the 



33 

banner known to this day as the Bear Flag. 

The i)ions man in-esented a rather sorry ap- 
pearance after his hard day's tramp over hills 
and across marshes and through woods and 
underbrush where the foot of man had seldom 
trod before. Nor was he clad in a mixture of 
skins and cotton, as were most of the earliest 
pioneers of this coast. His starched white 
shirt was soiled and limp ; his high silk hat was 
cracked and worn and faded. The holes in his 
boots revealed larger holes in his stockings. 
His broadcloth clothes, threadbare and soiled, 
were out at the elbows and the knees and ripped 
under the arms. Where buttons once had been 
there were now only dangling threads. 

In spite of appearances, however, he was 
received by his countrymen and treated with all 
the hospitality the conditions would permit. 
He was treated so well, indeed, that on the 
second day he made bold to ask his new made 
friends for the contribution of a horse and sad- 
dle on which he might pursue his journey into 
the wilderness to preach the saving doctrine to 
the untutored Indians. 



34 

The boys liad no good horse that they could 
spare, neither had they a snrphis of saddles. 
A short time previously they had turned an old 
horse out to die and it was suggested that the 
preacher might use him as something a little 
better than walking. He was brought in. 

Oh, such a horse ! The pole evil had eaten 
away his mane; an attack of the glanders left 
him running at the nose; his eyes were sore and 
had a sad and downcast look; he had a sway 
back, was spavined, knock-kneed, ringboned, 
liip-shot, hoof -cracked, and broken winded; in 
short he had practically all the ailments to 
which horses are heir. 

The good man looked him over and in reply 
to the expressed doubts of his friends as to 
whether he was any better than no horse at all, 
said: "Oh, he's all right." 

An old worn out saddle tree was found in 
some bnish where it had been cast away a year 
before. The horn was gone, and the little 
leather that remained on it was curled bj' the 
weather and as hard as bone. Fui'ther search 
discovered two stirrui)S, one of Avood and one of 



35 

iron. A sLoii strap sen-^ed to fasten one of 
these to tlie saddle tree and a short rope secured 
the other. One of the men had just completed 
a new hair cinch and he gave the preacher his 
old one. A pair of old rusty briddle bits were 
found in the brush near where the saddle had 
lain, and with a piece of rope for a headstall 
and another piece for reins, a bridle was im- 
pro\dsed. The desired outfit, after two or threc^ 
days of labor and hunting and planning, was 
thus completed. 

The next morning the man of God, in that 
old saddle, on that old horse, with that old 
bridle, rips in his pants legs still unmended, 
and with knees up where the horn of the saddle 
ought to be, started out to preach Christ and 
Him cnicified. 

He traveled on and on, turning toward the 
coast and skirting the edge of the redwood 
forests. 

The sun was low in the western -horizon; the 
horse was getting tired, the man was getting 
hungry-, day was about to turn into night; this 
good man had nothing to eat, and like the Son 



36 
of Man liad not where to lay his head. 

At length the sun was hidden hj the tall 
trees, the lengthening shadows foretold the 
parting of the day, and yet with a faith borne 
of piety our hero pushed forward into the 
wilderness. 

Finally to his great joy he discovered a dim 
smoke rising above the neighboring forest and 
thither he wended his way. He had no other 
thought than that it arose from an Indian camp 
where he might take up his abode and enter at 
once upon the purpose of his mission. 

Drawing near he was sur]>rised to find tliat 
the smoke issued from the rock chimne}' of a 
log cabin. It stood out in a little clearing and 
showed signs of civilization. 

Drawing up to the front of the cabin as near 
as the rail fence would permit, he signalled his 
presence by crying out, "Hello." 

A woman, past the middle age, came to the 
door, and after recovering from her fright at the 
unoxi)ected apparition, said in tones of mingled 
fear and surj^rise : 

"La! Mister, who are you?" 



37 

Noticeing her agitation the good man said, 
"Don't be alarmed, my good woman, I am hunt- 
ing for the k:)st sheep of the chihlrcn of Isr;iel." 

"Lost sheep, eh? Well, wait a minute." 

She hurried to the rear of the cabin and hal- 
looing to an old man who was digging potatoes, 
said: "Old man, old man, come here, (piick! 
Here's a fellow hunting for lost sheep, and I 
wouldn't wonder but that old mottled-faced ewe 
that has been bothering us so much belongs to 
him." 

Soon the old man came around the corner 
with a hoe on his shoulder. Seeing the preacher 
he stopped short, dropped the hoe, and leaning 
on the handle, seemed dazed for a moment in 
contemplating the visitor and his outfit. 

Finally he said: "You're hunting for lost 
sheep, are ye?" 

"No, no," replied the preacher; "the good 
woman did not understand me. I am a meek 
and humble follower of our Lord and Saviour, 
Jesus Christ." 

"You are following who, do you say?" 

"Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 



38 
"Yes, — well I don't know liim. But see here, 
stranger, let me give you a little advice: I 
don't know anything about the fellow you are 
following, but unless you swop off that ar' horse 
you are ridin', I'll be gosh darned if you'll ever 
catch him." 



CHAPTER V. 



ENCOUNTERING WILD ANIMALS. 

^T^HE sun was Ioav in the western liorizon, 
tlie sliadows of the tall i)ines darkened 
the face of the nigged landscape, no sound ex- 
cept that of trickling water down a near T>y 
ravine greeted the ear, and no sign of life was 
anywhere visible except the still life of the 
trees and of the leafy shrubbery that hung 
across my path. It Avas in the fall of the year, 
and even the chilly air told of the departing 
day and the hastening of the hour when the 
earth would be wrapped in the embrace of night 
and somber darkness would add to the lonliness 
of the surroundings. 

As I trudged along the dim trail which 
threaded the mountain side with my pack of 
blankets, grub and mining tools growing heav- 
ier at each step, I could not hell) meditating on 
the hard life of a California prospector and 



40 
wishing I might be fortunate enough to encoun- 
ter a cabin or a camp whose occupants would 
help relieve the gloominess of the situation. 

I was on the Avay from Nevada City to You 
Bet and had been told that I would find mining 
camx)S at occasional inteiTals along the road, 
I had passed one or two occupied cabins during 
the day, but noAv that I wished for one most, 
they seemed fai-ther apart. 

Suddenly I was startled from my reverie by 
the sound of sliding rocks, and looking forward 
in the direction of the noise I saw a big moun- 
tain lion drawing himself slowly out of the deep 
ravine up into the trail. He stopped short and 
so did I. The animal eyed me for a few mo- 
ments, and then with apparent unconcern 
dropped on his haunches, and after lapping his 
lips a few times commenced to lick his sides. 
Keeping my eyes on the brute I slowly re- 
treated. I was entirely unarmed and realized 
that should he attack me I would be at his 
mercy. But he showed no disposition to attack. 
Neither did he seem disposed to move on. 
After I had backed to a distance of about sixtv 



41 
feet I stopped and contented myself as best I 
could by watching the creature's actions. Ex- 
cept that he looked at me occasionally, my 
presence did not seem to concern him. 

The minutes I stood there in that lonely place 
eying that ugly beast lengthened into an hour; 
no longer the sunlight streaked the mountain 
tops, the shadows of the trees became merged 
in the thickening gloom. I was about to start 
on the back tract with the intention of going 
into camp a mile or two in the rear, when to my 
relief the lion arose from his haunches, gave a 
lazy yawn and started up the hill. The brash 
now hid him from my view, but when I thought 
he wa,s a safe distanae from the trail I started 
forward, treading lightly lest I might attract 
the beast's attention and provoke his return. 
As I passed the spot where he had been sitting 
I naturally glanced in the direction he had gone 
to see if he was yet out of sight. There he 
stood with his tail toward the trail but with 
eyes turned toward me not six feet away. I 
gave a sudden bound forward and with a thrill 
rauning through my frame not unlike the sen- 



42 
sation one feels who barely misses stepping on 
a rattlesnake I increased the distance between 
myself and the danger point as fast as tired 
limbs and a heavy pack would permit. 

Half a mile fuHher on I emerged from the 
canyon onto a little flat where there were three 
or four tenanted cabins. I presented myself at 
the door of one of these and was taken in with- 
out ceremony, and treated with as much consid- 
eration as though I were an old friend. The 
Avord "stranger" was not known by the miners 
in those days when it came to the matter of dis- 
pensing hospitality. 

While sitting around the cabin fire that even- 
ing, I related my experience with the mountain 
lion. It developed that the boys had slaugh- 
tered a beef that morning a few hundred yards 
up the ravine from their camp and the natural 
conclusion was that the beast had regaled him- 
self on the offal until his appetite was fully 
satisfied and, therefore, had no inclination for 
the time being to make a meal on me. 

"Your experience, though tame by compari- 
son, reminds me of a tussel I had with a bear 



43 

in the mountains not long ago, when I was liv- 
ing at Red Dog," remarked one of the boys, 
whose name I afterwards learned was Edward 
Herryman. 

"What was it, Ed? Tell us about it," asked 
two or three in chorus. 

"Well," said Herryman, "as I remarked, when 
I Avas mining at Red Dog, two prospectors came 
into camp one evening and repoi-ted having 
seen bear tracks on the ridge a short distance 
from the cabins. I used to hunt big game some 
in Michigan, so I concluded I Avould take my 
gun and, without giving any hint of my inten- 
tions, go out and try and bag a bear. I did not 
proceed far until I discovered fresh tracks and 
noting their direction followed the trail. In 
time I came in sight of bruin, a big black bear, 
by the way, quietly feeding on manzanita ber- 
ries. He saw me about as soon as I saw him, 
and at once began to growl his resentment at 
being disturbed. Without asking his approval 
I leveled my gun and fired. I saw the fur fly 
from the side of his neck, and at the same in- 
stant he made a bound and came for me with a 



44 
nish. There was no time to reload, so my only 
alternative was to run. I did not know the 
country yery well, but naturally started in the 
direction of the camp. I thought that if I could 
beat him across the ridge I would be able to 
outfoot him down the mountain and thus get 
away. Imagine my feelings, if you can, when 
on reaching the brow of the hill I found myself 
on the brink of a precipice from one to two 
hundred feet high. The bear was close behind 
me. To jumi) meant certain death. To con- 
tinue along the edge of the cliff meant to be 
speedily overtaken. There was no recourse but 
to turn and fight. Accordingly^ I braced myself 
for the encounter, fully nerved for a contest to the 
death. As the bear drew near he raised on his 
hind legs and came at me with a fierce groAvl. 
I struck him over the head with my gun but 
the blow did not seem to stagger him, and in a 
moment I found myself in the embrace of his 
strong paAvs. We both fell to the ground. I 
tried to get at my knife, thinking I might yet 
dispatch the fierce brute, but my arms were 
held so close to my sides I could not reach it. 



45 

With all my strength I made a desperate effort 
to free myself. In the stniggle we rolled over 
and over, and finally to my inexpressible horror 
^ye went together over the precipice and down, 
down into the depths of the rocky canyon. I 
remember as we were descending through space 
my one thought was that if I could fall on top 
of the bear I might be saved. At last we struck 
the bottom with a dull and mighty thud, and 
sure enough I was on top." 

Here Herryman paused, and after a little 
while he was asked: "Well, what happened 
then?" 

"Then," he said, "I awoke." 



CHAPTER YI. 



JUSTICE JONES. 

MOW Cyriis Epliraem Jones happened to 
break loose from home surroundings and 
come to California Avith the early rnsh of gold 
seekers, I never knew. He was so different 
from the average pioneer as to impress one that 
he came along jnst to complete the variety. It 
is said that all kinds of people were included 
among the early day miners, and if Cy. Jones 
had not come this would not have been true, 
for certainly he represented a distinct as well 
as a rare type of humanity. 

Other men were as old, and as tall, and as 
slim as he was; there were others who wore long, 
thin chin whiskers similar to his; there were 
men who assayed a white shirt and a stand-up 
collar, regardless of the shabby appearance of 
the rest of their apparel, and regardless of 
whether the shirt and collar were starched or 



47 
unstarched, the same as Jones did. There were 
a feAv who assumed as much dignity as Jones, 
and a very few who were as lazy, or as he him- 
self used to say, "obverse to manual labor." 
Once in a while one might have been found 
equally as deficient in education, and rarely 
there might have been in those days other illit- 
erate persons who insisted, as Jones always did, 
in using the biggest words he could command 
with a reckless disregard of their application or 
pronunciation. Others, we say, may have been 
distinguished by one or two of these peculiar- 
ities, but Jones,— Cyrus Ephraem Jones, pos- 
sessed them all in a marked degree, and it was 
by reason of embodying within himself so many 
traits of a peculiar and distinctive character 
that he was regarded as an individual different 
from anybody and everybody else. 

He would stand on the bank and watch the 
miners working up to their knees in water and 
caution them against "exposing their health to 
so much inclemency," and once when one of 
them bent the tines of his sluice fork, Jones 
said to him: "A Herculaneum man like vou 



48 

ought to get a |ork with greater integrity." 

He often dwelt on the beauties of the Sierra 
scener}', and it is told of him that once when 
expatiating in his peculiar way on the grandeur 
of nature in this western fairyland, he said : "If 
I should ever join the Neptune throng I would 
settle right in these hills, where I would have 
the terrennial snow for my morning picture and 
the perennial valley before me in the evening ; 
where the musicated birds would sing to me 
during the day, and the chrystallated rivulets, 
intonating their lullibys, would incline me to 
Morpheum at night. I would construct a few 
catagorical conditions to my humiliated cabin, 
dig me an artificial well and by irritating the 
soil during the months when Solomon is most 
devastating in his relenticated rays, I would be 
phj^sically fortified to produce an ample defi,c- 
iency of vegetation to comfortably consume a 
small family." 

The camp where Jones found lodgment was 
known then as Stewart's Flat, in Placer County, 
a region to-day covered with thrifty orchards 
and beautiful homes, showing that the natural 



49 

attractions which inspired the eccentric pioneer 
to flights of uncouth eloquence found lodgment 
in the breasts of others who have done more in 
the wa.^^ of promoting the productiveness of the 
community than the most enthusiastic early 
settler ever dared to dream of. 

Jones was good-natured, harmless and in a 
certain Avay entertaining, but he would not 
work. He assumed oracular wisdom and was 
constantly predicting the future and telling the 
boys what they must do if they would have 
luck. Generosity to him was an infaHible sign 
of greatness, and hence the miner who was most 
generous with Jones had in store the most bril- 
liant career. 

The miners tolerated him, fed him and in a 
way clothed him. Nuisance as he was in some 
respects his eccentricities afforded amusement 
enough to pay for his Kfeep, and in time he be- 
came to be regarded as a settled charge on the 
camp. 

In the course of time when the date for the 
nomination of candidates for county and town- 
ship officers was drawing near, and some of the 



50 

boys ou Stewart's Flat were discussing the mer- 
its and demerits of clifferent aspirants, it was 
suggested that they run Cy. Jones for Justice 
of the Peace. The idea proved popular and in 
a short time the whole camp was electioneering 
for Jones. This greatly pleased the old man, 
and as the canvass proceeded and his prospects 
brightened he assumed a degree of dignity that 
was really comical. 

He construed the desire of the boys to pen- 
sion him on the county as a recognition of his 
talents. Though he knew no more politics than 
a chicken, and was personally as helpless as an 
infant, he did not lack for l)ackers, and ^^'llen 
the convention assembled he was nominated 
with a hurrah. The same motive that prompted 
his nomination secured his election, and in due 
time Cyrus Ephraem Jones was duly sworn in 
as a full fledged Justice of the Peace. Then 
the boys called him Squire and Judge, instead 
of Uncle Cynis, and this pleased him still more. 

Some time previously there had come into 
the camp a gambler by the name of Lou Sim- 
mons. He not only resorted to marked cards 



51 

and otlier devices to win the boys money, Init 
after getting it he would enter on a big spree 
and become quarrelsome and overbearing. 

It happened one day, when in his cups, he 
run uj^ against a peaceable and popular young 
miner by the name of Jonas Harvey, who would 
not stand for his abuse. The two quarreled 
and in the mele Simmons pulled his pistol and 
shot Harvey in the groin. At the sound of the 
gun outsiders rushed in and separated the com- 
batants, but it was found that the young man 
was seriously wounded. 

Simmons was arrested and the feeling against 
him run so high that for a time it was feared he 
woidd be taken from the officers and lynched. 
Cooler council prevailed, however, on a i:)romise 
that there should be no delay in the trial. 

Accordingly, the preliminary hearing was set 
for the next day. Interest in the case was in- 
tense, not only because of the unprovoked char- 
acter of the assault and the unpopularity of the 
assailant, but because it was to be the maiden 
trial of Justice Jones. The curiosity of the 
boys to see how the old embodiment of false 



52 

dignity would act on the bencli was only less 
than their desire to see the defendant finnly 
held for trial before the county court. 

When the case was called a feeble represen- 
tative of the District Attorney appeared to 
l)rosecute, and C. A. Tuttle, afterwards famous 
among the bar of the State, but then a young 
lawyer of Auburn, ai)peared for the defense. 

The prosecution was very weak, while Tuttle's 
conduct of the case was characterized by tact 
and ability. He early discovered the vanity of 
the Justice and catered to it. In his final argu- 
ment he minimized the offense and magnified 
the wisdom of the Court, which so tickled the 
old fellow that he became lost in admiration of 
himself and his flatterer. Tuttle concluded sub- 
stantially as follows: "I submit the case, your 
honor, knowing that your superior wisdom com- 
prehends the true merits of the situation, and 
full}' confident that .you will give to your many 
admirers a demonstration of that justice with 
which a kind Providence has so generously en- 
dowed you, by at once discharging the defend- 
ant." 



53 

The attorney had hardly taken his seat when 
the vain ohl S(iuiro, pleased at this outburst of 
flattery, said: 

"Mr. Tuttle, you shall not be disa,pi)ointed, 
sir, in the wisdom of this Court. Therefore, 
let it be ordinated that the prisoner is dis- 
charged." 

Only those near could hear what the Justice 
said, but it was not long before everybody knew 
what he had done. 

He thought for the moment that he had per- 
formed a wise act, but when the storm of indig- 
nation which at once raged in the camp began 
to descend on his simple old head, he became 
bewildered, and at one time it looked as though 
he might follow the example of the prisoner, 
who immediately on his discharge had lost no 
time in "making himself scarce" in that com- 
munity. A little later, when the boys learned 
that Simmons had "skipped out," they were 
madder than ever, and except for the plea,ding 
of a few of the best men in camp they would 
then and there have wreaked vengeance on th(^ 
weak old man, who only a little while previously 



54 

had been hugging to himself the flattering 
thought of self-greatness and ] )rosi)ective i)ro- 
motion. 

Graduallv the feeling subsided, but it was 
some time before Justice Jones felt as comfort- 
able among his associates as he had been j)reyi- 
ous to that eventful preliminary examination of 
the charges against Lou Simmons. Indeed, he 
never again was quite on the same easy terms 
Avith the boys that he had enjoyed l)efore. He 
felt keenly the curses and criticisms of those 
who had befriended him, and over and over he 
promised that neither Tuttle nor any other 
smoothed tongue lawyer would ever again in- 
duce him to swerve one iote from the line of 
justice. 

One night a drunken stranger entered Billy 
MuUin's saloon and because some of the boys 
declined to drink with him he started in to 
clean out the establishment. Among others he 
run up against Mike Perkins, a burly young 
fellow, confessedly fearless, but naturally good 
natured and peaceable. No one who kneAv 
Mike would ever go out of his way to get a 



55 

quarrel with him, but the stranger did. Mike 
nt first told the man to go awav and cool off, 
and in other ways tried to dissuade him from 
quarreling, but the new comer would not have 
it that way. He declared lie was spoiling for ,'i 
fight and could whi}) any two men on Stewart's 
Flat; that he had been insulted and was going 
to have revenge. The longer he talked and the 
less the others resented the meaner and more 
abusive he became, and finally, when he as- 
serted that the Stewai-t Flat miners were the 
most cowardly lot of curs he had found in Cali- 
fornia, Mike stepped up to him and said : 

"See here, stranger, you are drunk or you 
would not talk that way; but drunk or sober 
you shall not call the SteAvart Flat boys either 
curs or cowards." 

"I shan't, eh? Well they are curs and cow- 
ards, and you are the biggest cur and 

c ." 

AVhiff, bang, smash! Mike's list shot out, 
and that stranger landed against the front door, 
and man and sash and glass foil in a hea]) on 
the Hoor. 



56 

Next day the stranger, with a l^eefsteak over 
his eve and several patches of sticking i)kister 
marking the places where he had been cut by 
the glass, appeared and swore to a compkiint 
charging Michael Perkins with assault and 
battery. 

Here was another case for Justice Jones. 

Nobody on the Flat believed for a moment 
there was any chance for a conviction, but all 
the boys were Mike's friends and all applauded 
his act, and they did not want to take any 
chances. It was accordingly agreed that they 
would send for Tuttle to conduct his defense. 
This bright young lawyer, they reasoned, had 
hypnotized the old Justice once and he could 
do it again, and to make sure of a prompt ac- 
quittal they would secure his sei-vices. 

When the trial came off the stranger, who 
gave the name of Samuel Griggs, made a poor 
showing. The testimony was all against him. 
The burden of the evidence showed that he had 
provoked the assault and got less than he de- 
served. 

The prosecuting attorney saw the merits of 



67 

the case, and recognizing the public sentiment 
wisely refrained from making any plea. 

Mr. Tuttle, however, rose to say: " I would like, 
your honor, to offer one word, and it is that the 
statement and evidence of this case constitute its 
defense, and there is certainly only one thing 
you can do, and that is to acquit my client." 

The Justice dropped his head forward for a 
moment as though trying to think. About this 
time there no doubt flashed before him a vivid 
recollection of what he had gone through after 
the Simmons trial, and with it the thought that 
his trouble was the result of listening to Tuttle's 
plausible plea, for, looking up suddenly, and 
with an expression of determination on his 
countenance, so far as he could appear deter- 
mined, he said : 

"That is all right, Mr. Tuttle, I do not dis- 
pute the plaudableness of your position, but 
you remember the last case you had in this 
court the verdict was in your favor; and now, 
sir, in order that the scales of justice may be 
eijually balanced, I shall have to decide this 
case against you." And he did. 



CHAPTEE YII. 



MOUNTAIN HOLDUPS. 

AN irishman's nerve. 

r^^ the mountain roads and trails in the 
early days of California "holdups" bv 
highwavmen were of frequent occurrence. 

Besides the organized bands of marauders, 
led by such desperados as Joaquin Marietta, 
Kattlesnake Dick or Three Fingered Jack, who 
roamed and plundered at will, leaving behind 
them a trail of blood and smouldering ruins, 
there were others without the fear of the Lord 
or the law who took to the road, prompted by 
desperation or the devil, or the desire to secure 
something for nothing. To a man naturally 
vicious or driven to recklessness by hard luck, 
the question of risk apparently was not taken 
into account. All classes of travelers were 
victims of these Eoad Agents, from the lonely 



59 
pedestrian miner "going to the city to get a 
bust," as related in one of Putt's songs, to the 
passengers of a well-loaded stage coach. 

An Irishman on one occasion was coming 
from the mines with pick and pan and blankets 
on his back, and three thousand dollars in dust 
on his person, when he was suddenly confronted 
in a lonely place by a masked man and a gun. 
The cold steel of the business end of the shoot- 
ing iron was pressed against his forehead as an 
effective means of emphasizing the demand for 
his money. This particular Irishman, with 
characteristic wit and coolness, proved equal to 
the emergency. 

With apparent unconcern, and as much as- 
surance as one might display in addressing an 
old friend, he said : 

"See here, my dear fellow, take that gun 
down. The loikes o' yees are dom thick on 
this rhoad. Ye are the third I've met this 
mornin', and afther laving the furst I'd nothin' 
lift for the sicond." 

Here Pat took out his old stub of a clay pipe 
and continued : 



60 

"Have yees a matcli, plase?" 

"Don't talk to me; throw out your money!" 
savagely commanded the robber. 

"Money, be dad! Its a foine sthake I had 
on'y the mornin'; but now its lucky I am, 
schure, to have me old pipe and a bit o' tobaccy. 
Have ye a match, I dun know?" 

The highwayman was knocked out. He re- 
laxed his severity, and finally when they parted 
he gave Pat a dollar to get his dinner at the 
next wavside tavern. 



POOE FOOL HAEDY. 

Teamsters, as may be supposed, were th» 
victims of a great many holdui)S. Not so many 
as reported, however, for instances were not 
wanting where a hired driver, after drawing 
down the money for his freight and losing it at 
the gambling table, or squandering it on wine or 
women, returned wdth a startling story of how 
he had been held up by a desperate highway- 
man. 

The men who worked the roads had no cards, 
nor did they go around crying out their pro- 



61 
fession. There was nothing in their appearance 
or on their persons by which they could be dis- 
tinguished. Hence no one ever knew when one 
of those fellows was around. It behooved the 
teamster to be very cautious about exposing his 
money, and if he talked about it, it were better 
for him to leave the impression that he never 
carried more than enough for expenses. 

A few did this and among them were not 
many \actims of the Road Agent. The suffer- 
ers were almost invariably those who were care- 
less in handling or talking about their wealth. 
It was very apparent to the observing teamster 
that the men who were doing the holdup act 
knew most of the drivers and their habits. 

Poor deaf Hardy ! Or, I might say, poor fool 
Hardy. He had a wheat ranch in the valley and 
a good eight animal team. Nearly all one sum- 
mer he hauled wheat to the little old grist mill 
that in early days stood on the rocky bank 
of Deer Creek in Nevada City. On one occa- 
sion he drew the pay for four or five loads. 
Wheat in those days brought from three to four 
cents a pound, and at this price the pay for a 



62 

load amounted to a good deal of money. The 
big pile of twenties which thus suddenly came 
into Hardy's hands evidently turned his head. 

It was about 10 o'clock in the morning, when, 
after unloading and drawing his money, he 
drove up to Richie's tavern on the hill above 
Nevada City, where he had stopped the night 
before, and after watering his team he went in 
to pay his bill. Approaching the bar he pulled 
out his well filled bag of gold, and, emptying it 
on the counter, told the landlord in a boastful, 
swaggering manner to take out his i)ay. He 
then invited fifteen or twenty men, Avho were 
lounging about the place, to come up and take 
a drink. As the crowd gathered about the bar 
Hardy was slowly putting the shining twenties 
back into the biickskin bag. 

There was naturally some comments on the 
display of so much money, and the landlord, in 
a spirit of friendly interest, asked if it were not 
a little risky to carry so much coin, and sug- 
gested to Hardy that he ought to hide it. 

"I guess I will," said the teamster. 

Accordingly, he went to his wagon, and, tak- 



63 

ing a jack screw from the jockey box, turuecl 
the screw out aud crowded the bag and the 
money into the cylinder. He then shoved a 
piece of an old barley sack down on the money, 
as a sort of cork, and putting the whole back in 
his box, remarked that it would take a ])retty 
smart robber to find that. 

Having thus secreted his money, as he sup- 
posed, he mounted his saddle horse, gave a 
"Ya Jim," and amid a cloud of dust and the 
jingle of bells he drove away. 

About twelve miles down the road, on Buck- 
eye Flat, some luckless teamster had broken 
down and piled the lumber, which he was haul- 
ing from the mountains as a back load, in two 
piles, one on each side of the road. As Hardy 
I)assed between those piles of lumber, his mind 
no doubt engrossed with thoughts of what he 
was going to do with his wealth, two masked 
men arose simultaneously, one from behind 
either pile, and with shot gun leveled at the 
teamster's head commanded him to halt. He 
halted. 

One of the robbers, still holding his gun so 



64 

that the now frightened Hardy could look down 
the barrels, told him to keep still and he would 
not be hurt, while the other went deliberately^ 
to the jockey box, took out the jack screw, 
shook out the bag of gold, threw the screw 
back on the wagon, and told the trembling jehu 
to drive on. 

We don't pretend that the term "foolhardy" 
grew out of this incident, but in discussing the 
robbery all the boys on the road agreed that 
Hardy had been very, very indiscreet in expos- 
ing his money before a crowd of strangers at 
Eichie's Hotel. 



BRAVE DAN DALY. 

The same season, but on another mountain 
road, another holdup, or attempted holdup, 
occurred, which afforded a happy contrast to 
the Hardy robbery. 

In the tavern barroom at Brown's Valley one 
night a lot of teamsters were discussing tli« 
prevalence of "road agents," as they were called, 
when the question turned on to what this on» 
or that one would do in cas« he was held up. 



65 
The general couelusion was that uo one could 
tell what he would do until he was tried. 

"I might surrender to two or three men," 
said a teamster known as "Sandy Dan," and 
whose j)roper name, as revealed by what follows, 
was Daniel Daly, "but no one man shall ever 
rob me unless he kills me." 

"That's all right," replied one of the boys 
who had been there, "but I'll tell you when one 
man points a gun at your head and demands 
your money he looks mighty big, and the 
longer you look at him the more he groAvs, un- 
til you begin to think he is a whole army with 
artillery thrown in. I think, Dan, you would 
weaken, the same as I did, and the same as 
nearly everybody does." 

"I might," replied Dan, "but I don't tliink 
so." 

It so haijpened that of all the teamsters at 
the hotel that night Sandy Dan was the only 
one returning from the mountains. The others 
were loaded and on their way to the mines. 
Dan, therefore, drove out of the yard the next 
morning and started off alone. He had gond 



only far enough to get out of sight of the house 
aud out of hearing of the teams on the up grade 
when he was startled by a masked man who 
jumped from behind a chimp of bushes, and, 
pointing a pistol at his head, commanded him 
to halt. 

Dan was seated on his saddle mule, and he 
at once pulled on the brake and cried, " whoe." 

"You say no one man can rob you," said the 
highwayman, "now throw out your money." 

Dan was cool and looked straight through 
the holes of the mask into the eyes of the rob- 
ber. At the same time he let the butt of his 
blacksnake slip through his hand and took a 
firm grip of the lash end. This only required 
a few seconds but the robl)er was impatient, 
and again commanded : 

"Throw out your money or I'll blow out 
your brains." 

"You wouldn't attempt this if you were 
alone," replied Dan. 

"I am alone and I'll pull the trigger if you 
don't pony up." 

"Who is that fellow coming there?" queried 



67 
the teamster, at the same time looking over the 
robber's head as though eyeiug a third party. 

The man with the gun knew he was alone, 
and if some one was approaching it might mean 
trouble for him, so he turned (luickly to see 
who it might be. 

As he did this the butt of Dan's whip, loaded 
with a chunck of lead, came down on his 
head with a thud that dropped him to his 
knees, and caused the revolver to fall from his 
grasp. 

Dan did not take time to climb out of his 
saddle, but he fell out and on top of the dazed 
bandit and proceeded to i)ound him into insen- 
sibility. 

He then tied the would-be highwayman hand 
and foot and loading him on his wagon hauled 
him to Marysville, where he was delivered to 
the authorities. 

For a time the desperado was under the care 
of a doctor, but when he recovered he was tried 
and convicted and sentenced to San Quentin 
for ten years, where he had plenty of time to re- 
flect on the folly of doubting a teamster's nerve. 



68 

THE LAST HOLDUP AT ROBBER BEND. 

There was one particular point on one of the 
mountain roads where for two seasons more 
teamsters were lield up than at any other place 
in California. 

It was a point in reality, just where the road, 
emerged from a canyon and turned abruptly 
around the hill and back along the opposite 
side of the ridge. An old road led from thi« 
point straight down a steep hill into a deep 
canyon and straight up the other side, but at 
the time of the robberies referred to this route 
had been abandoned in favor of a much longer 
road built up one side of the canyon and down 
the other for the purpose of saving grade. 

At the upper juncture of the new and the old 
roads there was a public house. I know the 
name of the house and the name of the brothei-s 
who kept it, but for the purpose of this story I 
will call the former the Robbersart a.nd thd 
latter Sam and Simon Hardnut. 

The Hardnut boys kept a good house, wer» 
amiable and accommodating, and from all out- 
ward ax)pearances were sober, industrious and 



69 

honest. It was perhaps half a mile across th© 
canyon hy the old road from the Robbersart to 
where the old and the new roads came together 
on the opposite ridge, while by the new road to 
the same point Avas at least a mile and a half. 

Teamsters stopped at nearly all wayside inns 
to water their animals and take a "dust de- 
stroyer," and while paying for the latter it was 
liable to be levealed whether they were carrying 
much or little money. In this way the inn 
keepers knew the different teamsters' habits in 
regard to money matters better than anj^body. 

But what of it? Even the caution of the most 
prudent jehu never suggested to him to try and 
conceal from the wayside landloard any facts 
about his money, for the bonefaces professed to 
be, and generally were, the teamster's best 
friends. 

The Robbersart being so close to the scene 
where holdups were occurring with alarming 
frequency, it was but natural that the boys who 
stoi)ped there should discuss these robberies 
with more than usual interest. 

It was a lone highwayman who was doing all 



70 

the mischief, but who he was, where he came 
from, where he held forth, who was harboring 
him, etc., were (questions that could not be satis- 
factorily answered. Sheriffs and sheriff's pos- 
ses had frequently scoured the country in hopes 
of getting some trace of the desperado or clew 
to his identity, but to no purpose. In all the 
efforts to apprehend the offender the Hardnut 
boys were more than generous in their assist- 
ance. 

When the teamsters proposed to raise a purse 
and hang it up as a reward for the cai)ture of 
the culprit, Sam Hardnut offered at once, with 
the consent of his brother, to start the fund 
with a subscription of 1100.00. 

As the agitation progressed and the teamsters 
grew more and more excited on the subject, the 
frequency of robberies at this particular point 
increased, until the place became known as 
"Eobber Bend'" and no one passed there with- 
out almost holding his breath until out of sight 
of the thick bunch of bushes that grew close to 
the road where it made the turn, and from 
which it was said the robber always emerged. 



71 

One day a teamster by the name of Judah, 
(there was a Tom Judah on the road in those 
days, but this was another Judah) drove up to the 
Eobbersart and after watering his mules went 
in to get a drink. In settling for the ''tangle- 
foot" he revealed a well-filled purse of gold. 

"I should think you would be afraid to carry 
so much money these times," remarked Sam 
Hardnut in a rather solicitous tone, as he slowly 
rinced the glass from which his customer had 
drank. 

"To tell you the truth I am a little uneas\ 
replied Judah, "and I wish now I had sent m 
money down by express ; but if I can get past 
'Robber Bend' without being held up I guess I 
will be all right." 

"Would you like to have me go with you that 
far?" asked Sam, in a tone of friendly interest. 

"Pshaw no," said Judah, smiling. "It ain't 
that bad, I hope, that you have to constitute 
yourself a guard to down teamsters. I have, 
passed the point a good many times without 
l)eing halted, and I guess I can make it once 
more." 



Y 



72 

"Oh yeSj" responded Sam, reassuringly; 
"while everybody is exposed, of course the 
chances are you will go through without being 
stopped." 

After talking a while in this strain, Judah 
climbed to the corner of his high wagon bed, 
where by stretching ropes across and covering 
them with his mule blankets he had improvised 
a comfortable seat, and, letting his brake off, he 
gave the word to his team and drove on. 

As he proceeded along the lonely road toward 
the head of the canyon, Avliere the only sound 
that greeted him was the "chuck, chuck" of his 
own wagon mingled with the jingle of the bells, 
a sound which was intensified by the echoes 
that floated back from the oi)posite hills, or 
which at times seemed to speak out from the 
tall pines that towered above his head and 
shaded the road, his mind became absorbed 
with thoughts of Kobber Bend and the possi- 
bility of being held up and robbed of money 
which he could not well afford to lose. While 
thus meditating the thought occurred to him 
that only cowards surrender, and as the money 



73 
belonged to him lie would be worse than weak 
if he did not at least make an effort to retain it. 

Accordingly he took out his pistol and as he 
approached the Bend he cocked it ready for 
action and held it with a firm grasp by the 
right hand in such a position that it was con- 
cealed in his lap, but could be raised for service 
in an instant. In this attitude he approached 
the critical spot. His eyes were intent on the 
particular bunch of bushes which were sup- 
posed to conceal the robber. 

He was about to smile at the thought of all 
his preparation for nothing, and was just on 
the point of relaxing his vigilance and putting 
away his gun, when he was startled b}' the un- 
mistakable outline of a man's form behind the 
brush. He wore a mash, had a shotgun in his 
hand, and in a stooping position w^as stealthily 
coming toward the road. Quick as a flash the 
teamster raised his pistol, and before the robber 
realized that he was seen, and before he could 
raise his gun, Judah yelled : 

"Throw up your hands or I'll blow your head 
off ! Drop it ; drop that gun ! Don't you dare 



74 
to raise that gun or out goes your light. Drop 
it, I tell you." 

The robber saw he was covered and could not 
make a move except at the risk of his life. He 
stood as though hesitating for a moment and 
then in compliance with Judah's emphatic de- 
mands, he dropped his gun. 

"Now tear off that mask," commanded Judah. 

The mask was slowly but tremblingly taken off. 

There, in an old slouch hat, with a coat on 
that was turned inside out, with overalls to 
cover his everyday pants, and with barley sacks 
wrapped around the feet to disguise his tracks, 
stood the cowering, cowardly, and, may I not 
say, contemptible Samuel Hardnut. 

Eobbersart was sold, Sam went to San Quen- 
tin, and the last I heard of Simon, who barely 
escaped prison as an accessory, he was trying 
to hide his identity under an assumed name in 
the busy throngs of San Francisco. 



CH.iPTEK VIII. 



TEAMSTER STORIES. 

TN the early days teaming in California was a 
science. The principal population was in 
the mines and all the supplies of machinery, 
tools and provisions had to be freighted by 
pack trains or wagons from the nearest river 
points across the valleys and up the mountain 
grades or trails to the diggings. Teamsters and 
packers had neither unions nor tnists, yet they 
commanded practically their own prices and 
made money. The wealth thus easily earned 
was lavished on fine mules, big horses and new 
wagons. A rivalry existed as to who should 
possess the finest outfit. The four animal team 
grew in a short while to six animals, the six 
animal team to one of eight animals, the eight 
to ten, and the ten to twelve. This was the 
limit, as a greater number could not be worked 



76 

to advantage on the turns of the mountain 
grades. Indeed, with more than six animals it 
was found necessary to have two wagons, one 
fastened close behind the other and called in 
those days "a back action." On short turns 
these wagons were hauled around one at a time. 
They were also hauled separately up the steep- 
est hills. 

Each enlargement of the team involved a new 
wagon, and each new wagon must have all the 
latest imj^rovements known in those days to the 
art of wagon building. 

The ambition to excel in the ownership of the 
biggest or finest mules or horses run the price 
of such animals to fabulous figures. A thous- 
and dollars a mule was sometimes paid, and 
there were instances where an extra choice 
animal brought as high as twelve, or fourteen, 
or even fifteen hundred dollars. 

Next to fine mules and a fine wagon the team- 
ster prided himself on fine trappings. Each 
bridle must be adorned on the side with a fox 
tail, and have a forehead fiap decorated with a 
bright metal star. Bear skin housing covered 



77 
the hames, and the hames were surmounted 
with a set of bells. These teams were driven 
invariably with a single or "jerk" line. It can 
be imagined that a teamster thus equipped was 
a very proud man. 

There were three grades of aristocracy in 
California in those days. First and foremost 
came the river steamboat captain; he was a 
bigger man than anybody. Next to the steam- 
boat captain was the stage driver; in the in- 
terior away from river points the latter held 
sway. Next to the stage driver was the team- 
ster. Of course there were degrees of nobility 
among the teamsters, varying according to the 
number and size of the animals and the new- 
ness and "chuck" of the iron axle wagon. The 
teamster with only four ordinary horses was 
tolerated by the duke who drove twelve mules 
and had a red wagon, and bear skins, fox tails 
and bells, because the former belonged to the 
same fraternity and was liable to promotion, 
but between the mule drivers and the ox team- 
sters (bull whackers as they were called), there 
was an impassable barrier. 



78 

Along the established mountain roads numer- 
ous hostleries sprang into existence to cater to 
the wants of the traveling public, but particu- 
larly to the wants of the teamsters. Each vied 
with the other as to which should treat and feed 
the Knights of the whip the best, for their trade 
was always cash and the number made their 
patronage desirable. As a result these men 
were fed on the fat of the land and waited on 
by the prettiest girls that could be secured. 
Before the meal they were given a free drink 
and after the meal a free cigar. A man was 
employed in the yard to help hitch and unhitch 
and care for their teams. Indeed, their wants 
and weaknesses Avere anticipated and supplied 
in every way that suggested itself to the fruitful 
mind of the smiling boniface. 

The teamster was conscious of the importance 
of his patronage to the wayside caterer and was 
most independent and exacting. The slightest 
discourtesy or neglect incurred his displeasure ; 
his grievance was passed along the line, and by 
common consent every teamster would unite to 
discipline the offending landlord by giving his 



79 

place the go-by until such time as they con- 
cluded he had been sufficiently punished. A 
defect in the table bill of fare, or in the quality 
of the free whiskey, or in the quality of the free 
cigar, or in the efficiency of the attending host- 
ler, or the attractive character of the waitress 
was resented in this way, and, as may be sup- 
posed, every wayside keeper was kept constantly 
anxious lest something about his place might 
not be just as the teamsters would have it. Of 
course when the inn keepers got a run of busi- 
ness the}' made money, and naturallj' thej' were 
all striving for business, while the teamster 
waxed fat and daily more independent on the 
rivalry. 

Complexion and clothes cut no figure with 
the teamster, as the cloud of dust that rose 
eternally from the heels of the mules made 
them all of one color. 

While the mule driver was proud of his team, 
and proud of his calling by reason of the inde- 
pendence which the position gave him, his 
greatest ambition was to haul the biggest load 
with the same number of pounds of mule flesh. 



80 
This indicated superior tact and skill in the 
training and handling of his team, and where is 
the man who does not like to be regarded by 
his fellows as excelling in his calling. This 
rivalry developed some wonderfully expert 
teamsters and gave to the teaming era of Cali- 
fornia the credit of demonstrating the hauling 
capacity of mules and horses far beyond what 
previous to those times had been considered 
possible. A ton, at one time in the Eastern 
States, was considered a load for a pair of 
horses. A ton to the mule was the load that 
teamsters usually started with from Sacramento, 
Mar^^sville, or other river points for the mines 
in the mountains, and this at a time when 
grades were steep and rocky and dust}^ and 
otherwise rough and hard. 

The theory was that a team could hall all 
it could start. The animals were never allowed 
to become winded. They were watered often 
and kept fresh and rested. When told to start 
by a "Ya, Jule!" to the leader, who, knowing 
hor business, would move up a little and shake 
her bells as a signal to the others to get ready, 



81 
every mule, after feeling around for a good foot- 
hold, was supposed to exert all the nerve and 
muscle it possessed, if needs be, to start the 
load. As "Gass}'" Denton once put it, they 
were supposed to " get down until the hair of 
their bellies scratched the ground and the hol- 
low in their backs would hold a cup of water." 
On the grades they seldom went more than 
from ten to forty feet, according to the steep- 
ness, at one pull. The.y were never started 
again by a teamster who understood his busi- 
ness so long as any animal was panting or 
showed the least signs of being tired. Under 
such conditions each animal was always ready 
for a supreme effort, and his fear and respect 
for the driver would prompt him to make it, if 
occasion required, without any extra words or 
whooping. 

Suppose, however, a mule became careless, 
which he was likely to do when the driver 
showed indifference or lack of attention, and 
failed to respond with extra exertions in a hard 
place. The good teamster noting this would 
not speak to that mule in a half-hearted way or 



82 
hit him a half-hearted stroke with his whip. 
Such treatment would impress the mule that 
the driver didn't care much, measuring the 
latter's indignation by the strength of his 
stroke, and the animal would likely become 
more indifferent than before. The driver would 
stop the team with a sharp "whoe!" said in a 
tone that indicated to every mule in the team 
that he had been halted for business ; in other 
words that something out of the ordinary was 
going to happen. He would then go up to the 
defaulting animal and whip him until he was 
tired. In aggravated cases he would strip the 
harness off and tie him to the wagon wheel for 
the purpose of administering effective punish- 
ment. This ceremony over and the mule again 
in his place the driver would command his 
team in the same modulated tone of voice that 
he used before, and you may be sure they 
were all ready to obey, the punished animal 
particularly being extra bidable as long as he 
remembered his punishment, and the length of 
the mule's memory was likely to correspond 
with the severity of the flogging. 



83 

Sometimes a whole team was disciplined by 
a free use of the whij:) and a good deal of what 
was known as "mule talk." This can be illus- 
trated by a little incident that haj^pened once 
in the experience of 

TEAMSTER BLACK. 

Black was a good fellow and had a good 
team, six of as fine mules as ever scratched 
gravel or rattled bells. He was not much given 
to boasting but he was a good teamster and bj^ 
common consent everybody admitted that Black 
hauled as big Inads, according to the number 
and size of his mules, as anybody on the road. 

At French Corral, in Nevada County, just at 
the head of Wood's grade which led from the 
Yuba River up the side of the mountain to the 
top of the San Juan Ridge, they had a new 
waitress in the hotel where most of the team- 
sters stopped. She was from the valley and 
had never seen much of teaming or other moun- 
tain life. While waiting on the table she heard 
a great deal about big loads, hard pulls, etc., 
and often expressed a desire to go down some 



84 
day and meet the teams and see the mules pull 
up the grade. Finally her landlady consented 
to take her in the buggy to meet Black the next 
time he should return from the valley. These 
hotel people knew every driver and his drives, 
and could tell when any particular teamster was 
due coming or going. Black hauled big loads 
and had a good team and among hundreds he 
was suggested by the landladj^ as the one likely 
to best exemplify to the new girl the power and 
I)ossibilities of six good mules when manipu- 
lated by an artist in the mule manipulating 
business. 

They had not gone more than a mile down 
the grade when they heard the jingle of bells, 
and on reaching the next turn in the road they 
were delighted to discover that it was Black's 
mules that made the music. They turned out 
at a convenient place and waited his arrival. 
As the team drew near, pull by pull, twenty or 
thirty feet at a time, the girl saw a fine exhibi- 
tion of starting and hauling. When Black came 
up the ladies explained their mission and solic- 
ited his assistance in turning on the narrow 



85 
grade. He politely lifted them out, turned 
their buggy around, helped them in again, and 
suggested that they follow close behind his 
wagon. 

Black walked by their side, most of the time 
with one hand resting on the buggy, and soon 
became more interested in the women than in 
his team. He would step out to say, "Ya 
Mike!" (Mike was the name of the leader) when 
he wanted the team to start, and when he 
thought they had pulled far enough he would 
say, "whoe." The rest of his time he put in 
talking to his guests. This had not gone on 
long until the mules, always alert, discovered 
that there was something wrong with the driver. 
They became careless, and finally when one of 
the hind wheels dropped into a chuck hole, in- 
stead of settling down with all their might to 
keep the wagon moving as they should have 
done and as they would have done had they not 
believed that their driver had deserted them, 
thej^ stopped. 

No well regulated, well driven team was sup- 
posed to stop, no matter what the obstacle, 



86 
until it was told to. Black, consequentlT, 
was provoked. With an "excuse me, ladies," 
he went forward and surveyed the situation. 
The hind wheel was in a bad place, right up 
against a ledge of slate rock that crossed the 
road and from which the lighter material had 
been worn from the lower side by down teams. 
To start his load on that grade under favorable 
conditions required a hard pull ; to start with 
that rock in front of the hind wheel would de- 
mand an extraordinary effort. He might knock 
out the chocky block which ever dragged close 
under the rear wheel, ready to hold the wagon 
wherever it might be stopped, and back down, 
but no good teamster ever backed down. To 
do this would expose him to the charge of not 
having his team well trained and would provoke 
the ridicule of his fellows. No swinging, no 
backing down. The mules must settle right in 
their tracks and start the load. These were the 
rules of the road. Black knew his mules had 
become careless and he knew every one of them 
would have to receive a mule lecture before 
they could be made to realize again that he was 



87 
boss and aroused to exert the effort necessary 
to start his load, but knowing all this he con- 
cluded to make one try before resorting to des- 
perate treatment. 

He yelled, " Ya Mike ! " a little shari)er and 
louder than usual, and after a jingle of the bells 
they settled down to pull, but the wagon did 
not start. "Whoe," he said, with an air of dis- 
gust, and the mules at once (piit pulling. He 
Avalked back to the buggy and with a distressed 
look on his countenance, said : 

"I am sorrj, ladies, but you will have to 
drive on." 

"Why, what for, Mr. Black?" queried the 
elderly woman. 

"Well, I am in a hard place, and it will re- 
quire some mule talk to get out of here, and 
mule talk would not sound very well in the 
presence of ladies." 

"Oh, pshaw! Now don't mind us; just go 
ahead and say what you please. We don't 
care, do we Jennie?" 

"I don't if you don't," answered the waitress, 
with a tremor of nervousness in her voice. 



"But you don't know," retorted Black, "and 
I don't know what I might have to do or say to 
make those mules start that load, and I insist 
that 3^ou drive on." 

"Now, Mr. Black, don't ask us to. We don't 
care. We want to see the mules pull. That's 
what we came down for. Jennie wants to see 
them pull, don't you Jennie?" 

"I would like to," modestly replied the girl. 

"There is no use talking, ladies, you must 
drive on," earnestly put in the teamster. 

"Now, you are real mean. If we don't care 
I don't see why you should mind. You attend 
to your team and forget that we are here." 

"Won't you go?" asked Black, decisively. 

"No; will we Jennie?" 

"I don't know," again replied the girl timidly. 

"I insist," said Black. 

"Well, we insist on staying," said the elderly 
woman. 

"All right. There is only one thing for me 
to do, and if you ladies are determined to hear 
the music and see the performance I can't help 
it. Eemember, I didn't invite you and I am 



89 
not asking you to star, but unless I want 
to canii) here all night the entertainment must 
begin." 

Thus saying he walked forward to his team, 
at the same time twisting the lash end of his 
blacksnake around his right hand to insure a 
safe hold. 

When near the swing mules he let out a 
broadside oath that was terrifying, and on 
reaching the leaders, with the vengeance of a 

mad man, and with a " Mike ! you ! ! you ! ! ! 

" ]^Q j-ose on his tiptoes and 

landed the butt of his whip on the mules ribs 
with a blow that resounded through the hills, 
reverberated down the canyon and echoed back 
from the neighboring cliffs like the report 
from a piece of muffled artillery. This was re- 
peated, and with each resounding thump from 
the heavy end of that heavy whip came a string 
of rare epithets and artistic oaths that fairly 
turned the sky blue and gave a sulphurous 
odor to the atmosphere, and caused every living 
thing within hearing distance to shudder. After 
nearly killing Mike he passed on to Puss, and 



90 

from Puss to Jake, treating each to the same 
dose, and accompanying the treatment of each 
with a string of unnamable titles and scientific 
oaths peculiarly adapted to mules, and this was 
continued until every animal in the team had 
received its medicine. 

They must be punished in a way that would 
make an impression which would last awhile 
for stopping without being told to stop; they 
must be taught that their driver was still mas- 
ter of the situation, and they must be aroused 
to a desperate effort in order to start their load 
from the place they had allowed it to stop. 

On completing the rounds Black mounted his 
saddle-mule and again gave the signal, "Ya, 
Mike!" In an instant every animal was up 
against the collar, and with an effort that 
doubled the knees and brought every mule's 
breast close to the ground, they jerked that 
ponderous wagon with its heavy load from its 
awkward position, and never showed a sign of 
stopping until the driver said "Whoe!" 

The women went down to see mules pull and 
got more than they expected. They witnessed 



91 

such an exliibition of disciplining a mule team 
as few have ever seen. They heard the most 
scientific outburst of vulgar profanity that ever 
fell from a mule driver's lips, for Black was a 
past master at the art. They saw what only 
could have been seen, and heard what only 
could have been heard, on the mountain grades 
during the teaming era in California. 

As soon as Black stopped, the women, taking 
the outer edge of the grade, drove by and on 
and out of sight as hurriedl}^ as they could. As 
they passed opposite from where the driver 
stood, they appeared to be deeply interested in 
the canyon scenery. So intent were they, in- 
deed, in viewing the rugged beauties of Nature 
that they passed and drove away from the team- 
ster without thanking him for the entertainment 
or even saying "good-bye." 

When talking of this incident Black used to 
say: "Well, they would stay and I guess they 
got more than they bargained for." On his 
authority it is also said that so long as he 
traveled that road, and as often as he afterwards 
stopped at that house, neither the girl nor the 



92 
woman ever afterwards looked him in the ere. 



MULE vs. HOESE. 

It must not be supposed, of course, that all 
the teams on the road Avere composed of fine 
animals and decorated with fox tails, bear skins 
and bells. On the contrary, there were some 
very shabby outfits. The ambition to be a 
teamster, stimulated by the demand for freight- 
ers and the money to be made in the business, 
prompted some i)arties with limited means to 
make a start Avith any kind of an old rig until 
their accumulations would enable them to do 
better. Old creaky wagons were patched up and 
old broken down horses and mules were gath- 
ered together and made to do service. As may 
be supposed the drivers of such combinations 
were the butt of a great deal of ridicule. 

It happened that two of the very worst of 
such makeshift teams met one night by accident 
in the yard at Bishop's Hotel, near Auburn. 

In one was a horse that from general appear- 
ances might have been turned out by Sir 
Frances Drake when he first landed on the 



93 
shores of the Pacific, and in the other was a 
mule that from the length of his teeth and the 
wrinkles over his eyes appeared old enough to 
have been used in the days when the Mound 
Builders inhabitated this continent. 

The horse had suffered many ailments and 
carried the marks and scars of hard usage. His 
ribs stood out like lattice on the windows of a 
country house ; his saw-tooth back was covered 
with scabs and sores; he had a poke neck, 
cracked hoofs and stiff and swollen joints; a 
different Kmp in each leg gave him a wabbly, 
winding motion, which, added to the side crook 
in his neck, left you in doubt as to the direction 
he was going. 

The scars on the mule, if possible, were 
thicker than on the horse. One of his legs had 
been broken and set crooked so that the toe of 
his shoe had to be built on the side of the foot. 
He had no hair on his tail and little on his 
body. One eye was knocked out and there was 
a scum over the other. His ears lopped down 
by the side of his head, one falling forward and 
the other backward; several ribs were broken 



94 
in, and pressing on his lungs gave to his breath- 
ing a sound not unlike the combined snore of 
ten tired miners. 

It further happened that the owners of these 
two animals were watering them that evening 
at the same time and at the same trough. The 
men were strangers to each other. As the crea- 
tures drank the man with the mule was looking 
at the horse, and the man with the horse was 
looking at the mule. Finally the silence was 
broken by the mule man, who said : 

"Stranger, that horse of yours looks like he 
might have been brought hereby General Sutter." 

"I guess he was," replied the horse man; 
"but if looks are what j^ou go by, your mule 
must have been brought to this country by 
Columbus." 

"Do you think this mule is older than your 
horse?" asked the mule man, with some show 
of feeling. 

"Of course he is," confidently replied the 
horse man. 

"Well, he can't outpuU him," said the man 
with the mule. 



i 



95 

"I don't know about that," retorted the man 
with the horse. 

"See here, stranger," continued the mule 
man, "this mule can outpuU your horse any 
day in the week, any place 3^ou name, and for 
any amount." 

"He might outpull him," answered the owner 
of the horse, "but he can't outrun him." 

"Yes he can outrun him, too," defiantly re- 
plied the owner of the mule." 

"I'll bet you a hundred dollars he can't." 

"You will," said the mule man, "how far do 
you want to run?" 

"Any old distance you want to, from one mile 
to a hundred." 

"All right," assented the mule owner, "I'll 
bet you a hundred dollars and put up the money 
that my mule can beat your horse from here to 
Sacramento and back." 

"Money talks," replied the owner of the 
horse, at the same time taking a well-filled 
purse of twenty dollar pieces from his pocket ; 
come right over to the house and we'll put up 
the stakes." 



96 

As they entered the hotel, each jingling a 
handfuU of twenties, the landlord and the 
assembled teamsters were at once eager to 
know the cause for the display of so much coin. 

This was explained in a few words when the 
teamsters, always anxious for excitement, and 
ready to welcome and encourage anything that 
promised some diversion, became as much in- 
terested in the controversy as the principals 
themselves. They at once began to take sides, 
and never were racers more carefully scnitinized 
or more thoroughly discussed by parties desir- 
ing to wager on their merits than were those 
old crowbates by the teamsters and others who 
assembled in the barroom at Bishop's wayside 
inn on that balmy September evening. 

It was agreed that the race should come off 
in one week, on a day when it would be conven- 
ient for both to meet again at the same place. 
Each animal must be ridden or driven by it's 
owner. They were to start on signal from the 
plaza in Auburn, go to Sacramento, round the 
9th Street park, and return to Auburn, the ani- 
mal arriving first to be the winner. The dis- 



97 
tauce from Auburn to Sacramento is 35 miles, 
making the race 70 miles. 

The news of this proposed event spread rap- 
idly in all directions. Most of the teamsters 
and waj'side tavern keepers knew the animals, 
as their scrawny appearance made them objects 
of interest. 

Teamsters had previously discussed the ques- 
tion of the poorest animal on the road but had 
never been able to agree as to whether this dis- 
tinction belonged to Mike Beck's horse or 
George Hudson's mule. There had been no 
dispute that the title belonged to one or the 
other, for of all the measly creatures used in 
the freighting business there were no others so 
ungainly or dilapidated. If there was to be a 
race between scnibs, therefore, it was agreed that 
these of all others were the animals to compete. 

A contest among thoroughbreds never aroused 
more interest than was awakened by this race. 
Wherever men met it was the theme of discus- 
sion and all kinds of calculations were made 
and speculations indulged in as to which would 
win. Nearly ever}- man in those days was will- 



98 
ing to back bis judgment witb bis money, and, 
as may be sui)posed, tbe betting was fast and 
furious. Tbe sporting fraternity quit tbeir 
poker games, tbeir monte and tbeir faro to take 
a band in tbe race, and miners came up from 
tbeir cbxims to learn more about tbe animals 
and wager tbeir dust on tbe outcome. As tbe 
day for tbe contest drew nearer tbe excitement 
grew bigber and tbe bets larger. Teamsters 
made tbeir drives so tbey could attend, and in 
some cases laid over one or two or even tbree 
days ratber tban miss tbe fun. 

At Sacramento, tbe turning point in tbe race, 
tbe interest was second only to tliat along tbe 
road and in tbe mines. 

At lengtb tbe day came and witb it tbe prin- 
cipals and tbeir steeds. Just tlien tbey were 
tbe most important personages in tbe country, 
and bad tbeir mounts been of tbe best imported 
stock tbey could not bave aroused more inter- 
est tban was bestowed tbat day on tbat old 
crooked neck borse and tbat old lop-eared mule. 

Tbe crowd tbat collected to see tbe start 
numbered tbousands, and all along, between 



Auburn and Sacramento, the road was lined 
with people as it never was before or since. 

It had been arranged that a rela}^ of riders 
should accompany the racers to see that all the 
conditions were executed according to agree- 
ment. 

Finally, all was ready, the word given, and 
away they went ; not very fast to be sure, but 
they went. 

The horse was quicker in starting and at once 
took the lead. They i:)assed up through China- 
town and at the toj) of the hill the horse was 
still leading. A rider who left them at the end 
of the first mile reported that the mule was 
gradually falling behind. A similar report 
came from the five mile stake, and still later a 
rider came with the news that when the horse 
reached the ten mile post the mule was a good 
mile in the rear. 

All day riders came in with news of the 
progress of the race and all reports agreed that 
the horse was getting further and further in 
the lead. 

The backers of the mule grew nervous, while 



100 
those who had their money on the horse be- 
came hilarious. 

When the mule men attempted to console 
themselves by reminding the horse men that 
the race was not ended j^et, the latter would 
respond by offering to double their bets at the 
rate of two to one. 

A few of the mule's backers tried to save 
themselves by hedging, but late in the day 
there was little mule money at any odds. 

It was evening when a courier rode into Au- 
burn on a foaming charger and announced that 
the horse had rounded the plaza in Sacramento 
and was two miles on the return before he met 
the mule. The excitement by this time was 
running high and the enthusiasm of the horse 
men knew no bounds. In the midst of the 
hurrah it was proposed to hire the band (three 
pieces), and go out and meet "The Conquering 
Hero." 

No sooner said than done ; the band was en- 
gaged, and everybody expressed a determina- 
tion to remain up all night, if necessary, to see 
the end of the conquest and welcome the winner. 



101 

Eiders were arriving at frequent inten^als and 
though they reported very slow progress on the 
part of the racers, all confirmed the horse's in- 
creasing lead. The mule men were subdued 
and blue. One miner who had a thousand dol- 
lars on the "lop-eared bnite" as he called him, 
with an oath or two in front of the title, said he 
had been afraid all the time of " that side- wheel 
leg," and now he was sure it was going to lose 
his money. 

About ten o'clock at night the horse was re- 
ported five miles out of town. At once the word 
was given and in a few minutes the band and 
the populace started to meet the victor and 
escort him home in triumph. The procession 
passed by the Bloomer Eanch, proceeded over 
Boulder Ridge and down the Long Valley grade. 
Between the Old Homestead and the Greenwood 
Toll House they met the horse and his driver. 
Then a shout went up that reverberated over the 
hills and awakened the stillness of the night 
for miles around. The old horse had his nose 
close to the ground and showed signs of great 
fatigue. He proceeded very slowly and at fre- 



102 

quent intervals stopped as though anxious to 
give up the contest. At such times the driver, 
who walked behind, urged him on, often apply- 
ing the whip as the onh- means that would in- 
duce a forward movement. AYith the band in 
the lead and the horse and his proud owner in 
the middle of the procession, the throng pro- 
ceeded slowly but joyously back to Auburn. 

The mule and his driver for the time being 
seemed to be forgotten. There was only one 
thought and that was that the horse would win. 
Indeed, he had already won, or as good as Avon, in 
the estimation of the crowd, and what did they 
care for the mule or what became of him. In the 
midst of the joy one fellow chanced to remark : 

"I wonder where the old mule is about now?" 

"I don't know," Avas the response. 

"And I don't care," put in another. 

"Suppose we send back and find out," said a 
third. 

"What's the use," put in the fourth, "he may 
be in Sacramento yet." 

"Yes, or dead and in some other sea-port," 
laughingly remarked the fifth. 



103 

Just at this juncture the procession halted. 

"What's the matter?" "What have they 
stopped for?" And other exi)ressions of anx- 
ious inquiry immediately arose from a hundred 
throats. 

They were not long in finding out. The horse 
had stumbled and fallen down. His driver laid 
on the whip to induce him to rise, but to no 
avail. Water was sent for but the beast refused 
to drink. His nose was sponged out and the 
dust washed from his eyes, and then as many 
strong men as could get near, after repeated 
efforts, succeeded in raising him to his feet. 

Slowly they were nursing him along, a few 
steps at a time, with a guard on either side to 
keep him from falling, and in this way had just 
reached the top of the grade when all at once a 
shadow and a shuffling sound came from the 
rear, and as the sound and the shuffle grew 
nearer it was discovered, to the horror of the 
horse men, that they were made by the mule 
and his driver. 

There had been shouts and cheers before, but 
nothing like those which rose from the few 



104 

mule backers who were in the crowd as that old 
mule steadily but surely came iij) and, throwing 
a cloud of dust at every step with that old side- 
wheel leg, passed the horse and took the lead 
in the home-stretch. 

The band and the crowd proceeded with the 
mule, while the horse and his driver and a few 
who had their money on the horse, remained to 
help and urge the liitter along, still hoping that 
some adversity to the mule might yet enable 
them to win. 

The news of the change of conditions soon 
reached Auburn. It seemed at first to the mule 
men too good to be believed. Everybody was 
aroused and those who had not gone with the 
first crowd now turned out to meet the mule. 

The old brute was pretty tired — very tired, 
indeed — but whack after whack by the driver 
with a big stick along his ribs kept him moving, 
and finally, with his game leg scraping the 
ground and his wheezened breath almost drown- 
ing the band and the cheers, he walked across 
the starting line, the winner of the race. 

The horse laid down again when about a mile 



105 
from town. His escort being unable to get him 
on his feet proceeded to Auburn without him. 

The mule was put in a comfortable stall and 
carefully cared for that night; and the next day, 
by arrangement of those who had won thou- 
sands of dollars on him, he was pensioned on a 
good pasture for life. 

The horse did not rise from the place where 
his friends had left him. Those who went out 
next morning to see about his welfare came 
back with the news that he was dead. 



A TEAMSTER CONVERT. 

It is contended by ministers and other good 
people that proficiency in profanity is not a 
necessary qualification for a successful mule 
driver. Few who have handled mules consider- 
ably will subscribe to this doctrine, and yet I 
am not going to deny it. Since mules appear to 
have become so completely woven into our ci^dl 
as well as our military life, I hope for the sake 
of morality that it is tnie, and that in the near 
future some pious man will undertake to give 
the world a i^ractical demonstration of the fact. 

Campbell P. and Rufus C. Berry were pillars 



106 

of the Methodist Church South in the earlv 
days when it had few communicants and was 
struggling for a foot-hokl in California. They 
were good men and lived up to their profession. 
Campbell, in later years, figured prominently in 
California politics, being for several terms a 
member of the Legislature, Speaker of the 
Lower House, Member of Congress, and United 
States Sub-Treasurer. It is not recorded 
whether they were good teamsters, but it is 
true that they owned a good mule team and 
hired their brother, Polk, who was yet outside 
the pale of the church, to drive it. 

As the church gathered strength its leaders 
decided to hold an old-fashioned camp meeting 
as a further means of proselyting, and a beauti- 
ful grove on Bear River, not far from where the 
town of Wheatland now stands, and within a 
few miles of the Berry home, was selected as a 
suitable location. 

The news of this coming event spread far and 
wide and revived many incidents and anec- 
dotes of Methodist camp meetings "back home," 
as Californians were wont to say in those days. 



i 



107 
It was to be something new in this State and all 
who could spare the time begun to get ready to 
attend. As the date for the camp meeting drew 
near the importance of the event grew in inter- 
est, and the desire to attend became infectious. 

Polk Berry was not exempt from the general 
fever which pervaded the community, and when 
he heard many of his fellow teamsters tell of 
their determination to lay off one trip for the 
purpose of taking in the camp meeting, he very 
naturally wanted to lay off one trij) and attend 
the camp meeting also. 

He suggested the subject to his brothers, but 
they evaded a direct reply. While he was 
away on the succeeding trip, however, they 
talked the matter over, and as good and relig- 
ious men they very naturally concluded that 
for the sake of the paltry $10 or $15 a day which 
the team might earn during camp meeting week, 
their relative should not be deprived of the con- 
solation which a few days of association with 
pious people might give him, and besides there 
was the chance that such association would in- 
cline him to become religious. 



108 

It should be said that Polk was young, \dgor- 
ous and profane. Considering his experience, 
he was regarded by his associates as extra pro- 
ficient in epithets peculiar to his calling. His 
brothers often remonstrated with him against 
his reckless use of language, and each had said 
to the other more than once that he wished 
Polk might see the error of his wa3'S and the 
follj^ of his words and join the Church. 

When he returned they told him they were 
anxious for the salvation of his soul and had 
gladly agreed that he might attend the camp 
meeting if he would go to the mourners' bench 
and try and get religion. 

Polk rather demurred at the mourners' bench 
proposition, but time had only increased his 
desire to go, so when his brothers insisted and 
reminded him of the sacrifice they were making 
solely for his spiritual welfare, he reluctantly 
yielded, fearing that if he should hold out they 
might change their minds. 

The time for the camp meeting came. Polk 
was there, and during one of the early exhorta- 
tions, when the i)reacher was vehemently call- 



109 
ing on everybody to come up and be saved, the 
profane youug teamster marched boldly forward 
amid the "Thank God" expressions of his rela- 
tives, and, kneeling in the straw, buried his face 
in his hands on the bench in front of the pulpit. 

At each recurring meeting Polk knelt in the 
row of other repentant souls, but while one 
after another "experienced religion," and took 
their places among the inner circle of exhorters, 
thus making room at the bench for new peni- 
tents, our hero gave not the slightest token of 
a change of heart until the evening of the third 
day. Then he raised his head and with his 
eyes turned Heavenward clapped his hands to- 
gether and shouted, "hallelujah!" 

What a rejoicing among his kinsmen and re- 
ligious friends! They gathered around the re- 
pentant sinner and mth shouts and praises 
proclaimed their happiness, and further gave 
vent to their feelings by singing, 

" I now believe, I do believe, 

"That Jesus died for me; 

"And through His blood. His precious blood, 

" I shall from sin be free." 

The next morning Polk hitched up his team 



110 

and started again for the monntaius. In ap- 
jiearance and action lie was a changed man. 
His features seemed drawn, his countenance 
pale, his voice subdued. He impressed one as 
though afraid to speak aloud lest he might un- 
wittingly give vent to a profane expression. 

His mules were not slow in discovering that 
there was something wrong with the driver, and 
the driver was equally conscious that his team 
was becoming careless and indifferent to his 
commands. 

On reaching the hills where there was neces- 
sity for some pulling Polk rather anxiously re- 
marked to a fellow teamster that some how his 
mules were not working right and he felt as 
though every pull would be the last. "They 
seem to know," he said, " that I have got relig- 
ion, and I guess they think I will not punish 
them." 

His friend understood the situation and sug- 
gested that he talk to them in his usual tone of 
voice, but use some other language than swear 
words. 

"I have tried that," said the changed teamster, 



Ill 

"but I don't seem to have avocabularj- suitable 
for the iHirpose." 

In spite of his fears Polk got along the first 
daj' without any mishap. 

The second daj^, however, while making a 
hard gee turn on the Kough and Beady grade, 
between the town of that name in Nevada 
County and the old Randolph House, his team 
stopped unbidden on the hardest part of the 
hill. 

Polk, already pale, as we have said, turned 
paler. He was an experienced teamster and he 
knew he was stalled. If the team would stop 
without his word he knew it was doubtful 
whether it would start at his command. How- 
ever, he concluded to make one trial. He was 
thoroughly conscious that he would have to 
punish and scold, so he went among them and 
laid on the whip, accompanying his action with 
loud but inoffensive words. He then straight- 
ened them out and gave the word to stai*t. 
They pressed up against the collar, but did not 
move the wagon. 

With distress depicted on every line of his 



112 

countenance Polk walked back to the teamster 
wlio was next behind him and said : 

"I wish you would come and swear at my 
mules for me." 

"I would, Polk," said his companion, "but 
you know it would do no good. They are not 
used to me any more than they are used to 
your religion, and you know no new driver can 
excite their best efforts." 

"That is true," responded Polk. 

"I will hitch on my leaders and help you up 
the hardest part of the grade," ventured the 
friend. 

"No you won't," promptly put in the new 
convert. 

"Then what are joii going to do?" asked his 
companion. 

"I don't know," replied Polk, "but I know 
those mules can pull that load. They've pulled 
bigger loads up this same grade and they can 
pull that, and I've got a notion to make them 
do it." 

"If you can make them pull out, why don't 
you?" questioned the other teamster. 



113 

"Well, to do it I would have to swear," said 
Polk, "and I don't want to swear if I can lieli) 
it." 

"So you have concluded your religion and 
teaming don't go together?" 

"I know they don't." 

"Then," resumed his friend, "if 30U have 
found it out, a fact that I discovered in less 
than ten minutes after I met you yesterday, you 
must quit one or the other, and since you can't 
quit your team until after this trip, I see no 
alternative but for jow to lay aside your 
religion or let me hitch on and help you along." 

"I will make one more trial," said Polk. 

The trial was made, but with no better re- 
sults than before. Mad at the refusal of his 
mules to respond to his demand he started in 
again to whip them. As he applied the black- 
snake he used language loud and strong but 
not profane. He was a high tempered fellow 
and as he whipped and scolded he grew more 
and more excited. Finally, before he knew it, 
he let slip an oath. 

This was the leak that broke away the dam. 



114 

With another oath he swore he didn't care if he 
did swear. "A man's a fool who thinks he can 
drive mules without swearing," he yelled, and 
with these words he threw his hat in one direc- 
tion and his gloves in another and mounting a 
rock let forth a volley- of oaths that quivered 
the leaves on the bushes and gave a creep.y, 
cringing feeling to every living thing within 
hearing distance. The accumulated profanity 
of a week seemed to belch forth like the pent 
up stream bursts from the suddenly loosened 
head-gate. 

After thus rehearsing he started with whip 
and oaths among his mules, and after going the 
rounds he stepped out and gave the command 
to go. In an instant every mule buckled to his 
work and that wagon started as though it were 
but half loaded. 

On reaching home his brother Campbell was 
at the gate to greet him. The mules wanted to 
go to the barn, though it was necessary first to 
drive to the granary where the wagon could be 
loaded for the next trip. 

When the leader refused to i)romptly obey 



115 

the jerk of the single line and the command of 
the driver to "gee," he swore at her a vehement 
oath. 

"Polk! Polk! What are you saying?" ejacu- 
lated his brother with an expression of mingled 
pain and surprise. 

"I'm saying — gee, j^ou ! ! ! ! 

I'm saying if you want me to have religion, 
you'll have to get somebody else to drive this 
team." 



JACK ROBINSON. 

Jack Piobinson was a teamster and was known 
far and wide as the most high tempered man in 
the business. They used to say that when Jack 
got real mad he lost his mind, and I think there 
was some justification for this opinion, for he 
certainly did things that no sane man would be 
guilty of. 

On one occasion he was trying to uutoggle a 
chain and because it did not yield as readily as 
he thought it ought he took out his pistol and 
emptied it at the obstinate knot. William 
Crepps, now a prominent farmer near Wheat- 



116 
land in Yuba County, California, probably car- 
ries a scar to tliis day where Jack Robinson, in 
one of his mad fits, hit him over the head with 
a piece of heavy scantling. But the worst thing 
Jack ever did was to cut off a mule's tongue be- 
cause the animal struck back at him when he 
was trying to discipline it. 

In the matter of profanity, while there were 
artists of renown and past masters in the i)ro- 
fession, Jack Eobinson's fame as the most 
gifted and hair-curling blasphemer on the road 
was undisputed. 

In ordinary conversation he never used a 
profane or Milgar expression. Naturally, he 
was polite, good natured and agreeable, and his 
command of language indicated early educa- 
tional advantages. As a friend he was tnie, 
and as a traveling companion your troubles 
were his. If he liked you he would staj' by 
you through fortune and failure regardless of 
inconvenience or expense. There were team- 
sters who would drive on and leave another in 
case of a break-down or other mishap, but Jack 
Robinson was not one of them. 



117 

While he was notorious by reason of his 
blood-cunlling profanity and crazy deeds, he 
was equally noted for his many works of kind- 
ness and his polite and coui-teous manners 
when in a normal condition. 

Though entitled to all the degrees in the 
Teamsters' Swearing Club, he had pecuHar 
opinions on the subject. He did not believe in 
using profane words indiscriminately. He was 
known to say that a fellow who was continually 
damning this and helling that made himself 
])oth offensive and ridiculous. He regarded 
swearing as a safety valve, a vent, as it were, 
for the escape of a superabundance of passion, 
and only justified in the case of great mental 
distress as a means of relieving the pressure on 
the brain and thus avoiding the possible rap- 
ture of a blood vessel. He would go sometimes 
a week, or possibly longer, without uttering an 
oath, but when he did break loose the expres- 
sions he used were simply terrifying. He 
would talk about a gallon of the wrath of 
Jehovah boiled down to a pint, the hind «juar- 
ters of his Satanic majesty, the sixteen sections 



118 

of pTirgatory, and other tilings equally as origi- 
nal and if possible more sacrilegious. 

In characterizing something particularh' mean 
he used to say that "if you should pour epicac 
into hell by the ton for a thousand years it 
could not spew up anything worse." I have 
seen this expression attributed to Bob Toombs, 
of Georgia, but I can imagine no one capable of 
originating it except the notorious Jack Eobin- 
son. 

On one occasion Jack was returning from a 
saw mill, above Nevada City, with a load of 
lumber. The road was steep and the grade very 
narrow. The brake was on to the last notch 
and yet the wagon shoved on his mules. The 
mountain was so i)recipitous that in order to 
get a road wide enough for wagons they had 
not only to dig out the bank, but to wall up the 
lower side in some places as much as twenty 
feet. From the outer edge of the road one 
could reach out and touch the limbs of i)ine 
trees that branched from the main trunk a 
hundred feet from the ground. On a gee 
turn in an extra narrow place one of Jack's 



119 

brake blocks pulled out. The accident hap- 
pened without warninj^, and in an instant the 
wagon shot forward and went over the embank- 
ment. Those mules that were not immediately 
knocked off struggled and clawed to save them- 
selves, but it was no use, the chains and gearing 
held them together and the entire outfit, wagon, 
lumber and mules went tumbling and crashing 
down the side of that awfully steep mountain. 

Jack was on his saddle mule when they went 
over, but falling close to the wall the mules and 
the wagon passed over his head and left him 
comparatively uninjured. As soon as he could 
straighten . himself up he climbed back to the 
road, and scratching his hatless head with the 
left hand, stood looking down on the wreck 
of what a few moments before was a splendid 
team and wagon, and as he looked and scratched 
there was omitted from his puckered lips a 
long, low whistle. 

Lumber was scattered down the side of the 
mountain for at least 500 feet; here and there 
among the debris was a struggling animal, 
while most of the wagon and three of the mules. 



120 
one with heels straight in the air, were lodged 
in a heap against a cluster of pine trees. 

There were two other teamsters just behind 
Jack and on coming to the scone of the accident 
they marvelled to see their companion standing 
alone on the grade. 

"TMiere is your team?" the first one asked 
as he drew up. 

"Well, sir, they got in a hurry and took a 
short cut down the mountain," coolly replied 
Jack, as he pointed to the wreck and resumed 
his whistling. 

The three teamsters climbed down from the 
grade to make a more critical examination 
of the results of the accident. 

One mule had not been fatally hurt. After 
chopping out a trail and tearing down the wall 
of the grade this mule was finally gotten out 
on the road at a point some distance below 
the scene of the disaster. The other mules 
were mangled and dying and were shot to put 
them out of their misery. The harness and a 
few tools and traps from the wagon were saved, 
and with these and the one scarred and limping 



121 
and bleeding mule, the latter tied behind one of 
the other wagons, the party proceeded on their 
journe}. 

They stopped that night at Grass Valley. At 
the hotel the accident was naturally the absorb- 
ing subject of discussion and many were the 
expressions of sympathy for Jack in his great 
loss, and many were the congratulations at his 
narrow escape from personal injury. 

One hilarious fellow, however, ventured to 
say that he would bet Jack made the air blue 
with profanity about the time he straightened 
himself up and saw what had happened. 

"I will bet that is where you are mistaken," 
replied Eobinson. 

"Is that so. Jack? Didn't you swear at all?" 
asked several in chonis. 

"No, I did not," said Jack. 

"How on earth did you keep from it," eagerly 
asked one or two who knew him well and knew 
his failing and who were now thoroughly inter- 
ested to know how Jack acted under such great 
provocation. 

"Well, I will tell you, boys," answered the 



122 

man who was recognized by everybody as being 
without a rival among the early day teamsters 
of California in the use of original oaths and 
nerve-racking profanity, "I never knowingly 
undertake the impossible, and it only required 
a glance at the situation to convince me that 
my vocabulary was far short of being equal to 
the emergency ; but the pressure had to be re- 
lieved some how, so I just whistled." 



HAIK LIP PETE. 

Teamsters in the early dnja of California, 
those who did the freighting between the river 
points in the valley and the mines, were greatly 
given to boasting. They were, as a rule, skilled 
in their calling and really did haul big loads, 
but the disposition to brag was so prevalent 
that a driver was seldom found who would 
frankly confess to the true Aveight of his freight. 
It was a habit among them when questioned 
on this point not to hesitate about answering, 
but with a promptness and assurance indicat- 
ing candor the teamster would reply, giving, or 
professing to give, the weight of his load to a 



123 

pound, being snre, however, to make the figure 
large enough to cover the greatest known capac- 
ity of a similar team. He would thus not only 
put himself within the limit of belief, but would 
the more likely exi)ose to ridicule any one who 
l^rofessed to beat him. 

Just exactly what different teamsters did 
haul was always more or less a question of 
doubt, and being unknown was naturally the 
subject of a great deal of discussion. 

On one occasion, at the Half Mile House, 
near Nevada City, a lot of teamsters, seated at 
the supper table, were speculating on how 
much this, that and the other Knight of the 
whip hauled, referring, of course, to absent but 
well known drivers of good teams, but as they 
could make little headway in determining what 
others did, the discussion naturally turned on 
what they themselves were doing in the wslj of 
maintaining the reputation of California team- 
sters for hauling the biggest loads over the 
hardest roads with the least number of mules 
of anybody in the world. 

It is not to be supposed that credit to the 



124 

business suffered from any lack of skill among 
the members of that party so long as it was left 
to them to tell it. 

As one after another dilated on his artistic 
methods of manipulating the string and per- 
suading the mule to the greatest possible exer- 
tions, an outsider might have been impressed 
that he was listening to a dissertation by a 
party of the most expert mule drivers in Amer- 
ica. 

The first fellow who asserted the capacity of 
his load was modestly outdone a little by the 
next, and he by the next, and so on, until the 
figures grew almost to the bounds of incredi- 
bility. Each, however, assumed to take the 
others seriously and it was really beginning to 
appear to the outsider that the man who spoke 
last was the conveyor of the biggest loads, 
when finally Newt. Gregory, observing that 
Pete Miller, who had as fine an outfit as any 
man on the road, had been a silent listener 
through all the spirited discussion, asked him 
how much he hauled. 

Now, Pete had a hair lip which interfered 



125 

materially with his articulation. He had the 
knack of making himself understood and feared 
by his mules, however, and was rated a first- 
class teamster. By reason of his infirmity of 
speech, of which he was rather sensitive, he 
seldom spoke except when he was spoken to. 
Therefore, to the question of Gregory, he 
simply looked up and said : 

"Me?" 

"Yes, Pete," said a half dozen in chorus, 
"how much do you haul?" 

"We' I te' 3^ou bo's," said the modest team- 
ster, "I 'ink I 'arry abou' a' mu' on my wa'on 
a' any o' you, bu' I don' 'ink I 'arry wite so 



CHAPTEK IX. 



HIRAM HAWKINS. 

TN very early daj^s Hiram Hawkins was Jus- 
tice of the Peace in Auburn. Hiram was a 
man who stamped his personality on the com- 
munity by reason of his strong traits of charac- 
ter. To this day old timers will entertain you 
with stories about Hi. Hawkins, while the 
younger generation know about him from the 
frequent recitals of the things he said and did. 
He had more brains than is allotted to the 
average man, and what was more unusual, the 
gray matter under his cranium was distributed 
in such proportions as to pretty evenly balance 
his faculties. He had a good command of lan- 
guage and was an entertaining story teller. A 
humorous vein run through his composition 
and he was noted for his high sense of honor. 
He was withal a man of very strong will. No 



127 

argument or iufluence could swerve him from 
what he believed to be right. With too much 
sense to assume to be infallible, he was at the 
same time keenly alive to the fallibility of others. 

On one occasion when an attorney in his 
court was endeavoring to bolster up a case by 
frequent quotations from decisions of the su- 
preme court, Hawkins interrupted him to ask : 

"What supreme court are you quoting, the 
court of heaven or the court of earth?" 

" The court of earth, your honor ; the supreme 
court of California," replied the surprised at- 
torney. 

" If of earth it is human, and being human is 
liable to err, the same as you and I; and being 
liable to err it will have little weight with this 
court against its own opinions, which are as 
likely to be right— right I say— as the opinions 
of other fallible creatures. Let the supreme 
court go, please." 

"But," said the lawyer hesitatingly, "think of 
the eminence and learning of this distinguished 
tribunal." 

"Eminence and learning are not necessarily 



128 
synonymous for justice and right. I have heard 
of learned fools, and it is said that men of preju- 
dice sometimes sit in high places. Present 
your own case on its own merit, and never mind 
what others have decided in other cases where 
unknown influences were exerted or that may 
not have been precisely similar." 

Had Hawkins been less strong his independ- 
ence might have gotten him into much trouble, 
but as it was, the people all liked him by reason 
of his generous nature and affable disposition, 
and the best of lawyers came to respect him for 
his integrity and sound judgment. While ignor- 
ing the technicalities of the law and while 
throwing precedent to the winds, as it were, his 
decisions, as a rule, carried with them such 
strong justification for the conclusions reached 
that he was seldom overruled. Indeed, the 
justice court presided over by Hi. Hawkins be- 
came so noted for its "justice" that both attor- 
neys and clients who had a bad case preferred 
any other magistrate, while those who Avere 
conscious of a good case would rather have it 
tried before Hawkins than anybody. 



129 

On one occasion a controversy was brought 
before liim of more than usual importance, and 
both sides were anxious to obtain the prestige of 
a favorable decision in Hawkins's court, know- 
ing that in the event of an appeal, which was 
likeh' to follow, his decision would have more 
or less weight with a higher tribunal. Two of 
the ablest lawyers in Auburn were engaged on 
one side, and to combat them, the opposition, at 
considerable expense, brought down two of the 
best lawyers of Nevada City. All were high- 
priced men and Hawkins knew it, and he knew 
also that whether the trial lasted one day or one 
week their fees would be the same. The exam- 
ination of witnesses lasted nearly two days, and 
when it was announced that the testimony was 
all in the Justice wrote on a little slip of paper, 
put the slip under the sweat-band of his hat, 
and then addressing the four lawyers asked 
them if they desired to argue the case? Tlie}^ 
concluded that they did, and after a clearing of 
throats and the inevitable swallowing of water 
the forensic war began. 

As the great men talked they warmed to the 



130 
subject, and for two whole days those four 
bright lawj^ers engaged in a fierce battle of 
words. Finally, when they had concluded their 
arguments and submitted their case, one of the 
Nevada City lawyers asked about when they 
might expect a decision. 

"Right now," said Justice Hawkins, and 
reaching for his hat he took the piece of paper 
from under the sweat-band and read from it the 
verdict of the Court. 

This movement did not escape the notice of 
the assembled counsel, and one of them ventured 
to ask : 

"If your honor please, when did you write 
that decision?" 

"Just as soon as the testimony was in," an- 
swered the Justice. 

The lawyers looked at one another in blank 
astonishment. At last, with an air of un- 
concealed disgust, one of the Nevada City 
attorneys who did not know Hawkins so 
well, said in a tone intended to be crushing in 
its severity : 

" If you had made up your mind, sir, why in 



131 
the world did you not say so and let us go home 
two days ago?" 

Hawkins looked at the attorney with an ex- 
pression more withering than the latter's words, 
and then, changing his expression to a self- 
satisfied smile, remarked in a modified tone, 

"Don't get excited, my dear sir. I simply 
wanted to give you gentlemen a chance to earn 
your mone3^" 



CHAPTER X. 



THE TWO VERDICTS, 

7 TIEGINIATOWN, in Placer County, on the 
Auburn Ravine, in the lower foothills, was 
in early days one of the richest placer mining 
camps in California. In local politics Virginia- 
town had to be considered, for in the days of 
its zenith it and Gold Hill, in the same locality, 
cast more votes than any other towns in the 
county. 

To-day the main street forms part of a 
country highway with here and there a rough 
unused granite hitching-post along its borders 
to mark where the town once stood; the build- 
ings and the miners are all gone. The hills and 
dales surrounding this historic spot are now 
covered with thrifty orchards and beautiful 
homes, and mining is only a memory. The 
Chinaman was the last to la}' down the pick 
and shovel, but even he in time exchanged 



138 

these implimients for the hoe and the pruning 
hook. Mining has taken on a different charac- 
ter and moved further back into the mountains. 

In the pahniest days of mining a few people 
in or near Virginiatown, tempted by the great 
demand for pork among the Chinese, went ex- 
tensively into the business of raising hogs. It 
was here that P. D. Armour, afterwards the 
great pork king of Chicago, made his first 
money out of swine. 

The hills were covered with oaks and the 
oaks were covered with acorns, and from these 
and other sources hogs fed and fattened. 

In those same hills there were some deer and 
an occasional bear and other large game. It 
was a common occurrence for a miner to take a 
day off for the purpose of enjoying a hunt. He 
seldom returned empty handed. If he failed to 
bag a bear or a deer he would turn his rifle on 
a hog, and thus the mining camps in that 
neighborhood soon became famous as favorite 
hunting grounds. 

The hog men protested, but to no avail. 
Finally, they succeeded in electing one of their 



134 
number, by tlie name of John Bosqnit, to the 
office of Justice of the Peace. Thus fortified, 
they were not slow in filing complaints against 
some of the most successful "bear" hunters. 

When these parties were arrested and brought 
into court they availed themselves of their pre- 
rogative and at once demanded a jury trial. It 
took some time to secure twelve good men and 
true who were satisfactory to both sides, for 
Avhile the defense was partial to the hunting 
fraternity, the prosecution objected to every 
man who was known to carry a gun — that is, a 
hunting gun. 

At length a jury was sworn in with Bill 
Honn, a character as determined as he was 
profane, as foreman, and one of the defendants 
was i:)ut on trial. This was to be a test case 
and the camp and all the country round about 
was thoroughly wrought up over the outcome. 
Miners quit work and people came in from the 
country to hear the trial. The courtroom was 
crowded to the door and several hundred men 
were in the street unable to gain admission. 

There were whisperings that there was not a 



135 

hog killer on tlie jury, while others looked wise 
and said there Avcre plenty of men in the jury 
box who had eaten hog. 

The burden of testimony was against the de- 
fendant, and there were hog raisers in the audi- 
ence who would have bet two to one on a 
conviction. Indeed, a few bets were made at 
these odds. Finally, when the evidence was all 
in and the arguments concluded. Justice Bos- 
(juit instructed the jury, concluding with these 
words : "Anticipating your conclusions, gentle- 
men, I have prepared a verdict." 

He handed to the foreman a slip of paper not 
more than half an inch wide and as long as the 
width of a letter sheet, on which was written, 
"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty." 

The jury was then informed that it might 
retire for deliberation. As soon as out of hear- 
ing of the court they read what the Judge had 
written and with almost one acclaim protested 
that they would not stand for a verdict of 
guilty, and that no court could bulldose them. 

In less than five minutes they had determined 
among themselves to acquit the defendant and 



136 

requested one of their number, who was known 
to be a good penman, to prepare the findings. 
Then they made a discovery. They had no 
pen, no ink, and no surphis paper. The Justice 
had been careful to leave no blank space on the 
piece he had given them. In the crowd was 
one pencil but no one had a scrap of pax)er. 
To go back to the courtroom for some would 
expose their intentions. Finally, in this di- 
lemma, one of them suggested that they write 
their verdict on the back of the slip that con- 
tained the verdict of the Judge. This idea was 
accepted, and accordingly on the reverse side 
they wrote: "We, the jury, find the defendant 
iwt guilty." 

Having thus triumphed over the studied 
obstacles of the court to defeat their possible 
determination to prevent the punishment of one 
of their friends for no other offense than "mis- 
taking a hog for a bear," as the defendant's 
attorney had put it, they returned to the trial- 
room to report their conclusions. In the haste 
and excitement of their preparations they neg- 
lected to erase what the Justice had written. 



137 
The court aud the people were waitiuf; for 
them, and after calling to order the Justice 
asked if they had agreed on a verdict. "We 
have, your honor," promptly responded the 
foreman, at the same time handing back the 
slip of paper. The Justice looked it over, read 
to himself, turned it over and read again. 
Finally, addressing the jury, he said : 
"Is this your verdict, gentlemen?" 
"It is, your honor," responded the foreman, 
"Then," said the Justice, "the Clerk will 
please record," and with the i^aper before him 
he read aloud : "We, the jury, find the defend- 
ant guilty." 

"Hold on there, Judge; hold on!" put in 
foreman Honu, excitedly. "That, Judge, is 
your verdict; you will find ours, sir, on the 
other side of the paper." 



CHAPTEE XI. 



HEARTS WERfi TRUMPS. 

-^T^HIS is not m story of early niiniug days in 
California, but of early railroad days. 

The Central Pacific Kailroad Company was 
running trains across tlie Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains, and doing a big business by way of Reno 
with Virginia City, in the State of Nevada. 

Sacramento was the Western terminus, and 
the depot on Front Street in that city was a 
busy place, especially during the arrival and 
departure of passenger trains, when people 
gathered to say a last good-bye to parting 
friends, or perhaps to meet those who were due 
to arrive. Still others were attracted to the de- 
l)ot out of idle curiosity just to see the trains 
come in. 

There has always been an unexplainable fas- 
cination about arriving and departing trains 



189 

since the beginning' of railroading, that has at- 
tracted idle people to the depots at train time, 
just as the same class of people used to gather 
at the town tavern to see the stage come in. 

In the days of our grandfathers the arrival of 
the stage was a great event in some of the ({uiet 
western towns, so much so that on occasions 
villagers quit their work, and on holidays farm- 
ers drove to town with their boys and girls, just 
to see the stage come in. Brick Pomeroy has 
told us of the boy who went with his father to 
see the stage come in on an occasion when there 
were two passengers, a man and a dog, the man 
rode and the dog walked. 

Among those attracted by idle curiosity to 
the Sacramento depot one day was a young 
minister who had recently arrived in California 
from England. He was neatly attired and had 
a kindly face, and the cut of his garb proclaimed 
his calling. After the train pulled out most of 
the people who had gathered there departed for 
their homes, but the minister still strolled leis- 
urely up and down the platform. 

A well dressed and comely young woman, 



140 
with a satchel in one hand and a small bundle 
done up in a shawl-strap in the other, came 
hurriedly across the street and rushing up to 
the stranger asked, with an expression of great 
anxiety, if the train had gone. 

"A train has just pulled out, madam; what 
train did you want?" 

"The train to Reno." 

"Well, I am sure I cannot tell you whether that 
train goes to Reno or not, but I will inquire." 

So saying the minister stepped oyer to the 
ticket office and in a moment returned wdth the 
information that it was the Reno train which 
had just departed. 

" Oh, what shall I do ! What shall I do ! " ex- 
claimed the young woman, and the big tears 
came to her lustrous brown eyes and rolled in- 
voluntarily down her pink cheeks as between 
sobs she told that the following evening she 
was to be married at Virginia City to the best 
man in the world, that great preparations were 
making for the wedding, and that if she disap- 
pointed him she knew he — boo hoo — would 
never — never forgive her. 



141 

"Say," she broke in, "won't you ask tliat 
man on tlie engine to take me in tlie cab with 
him and catch the train? Do, please, I will 
pay him!" 

The young Englishman's sympathies were 
thoroughly aroused. Little as he knew of the 
customs of this country — and especially this 
Western part of the country — he knew it was a 
Ijold request, but just at that moment, for that 
beautiful, tear stained, suffering girl he felt that 
he would do anything in his power, so walking 
over to the engineer w^ho was seated on a big, 
fine, high wheeled, puffing, panting locomotive, 
he asked if for pay he could take the lady 
aboard and ovei-take the Keno train. 

"Not much," replied the engineer, "if I should 
do anything like that I would be fired in a 
minute." 

"Fired? fired?" queried the Englishman; 
" surely, you don't mean to say that they burn 
people here if they depart from the rules of the 
company?" 

" No, not exactly that," put in the railroad man, 
"but they would certainly take my head off." 



142 

" Head off ! How shocking ! I can't conceive 
of such a thing ! Take a man's head off, and 
simpl}^ for departing slightly to perform a hu- 
mane act. I am astonished." 

These (ejaculations by the minister were di- 
rected partly to the engineer and partly to the 
anxious, tearful young woman, who by this 
time had come up to join in the negotiations. 
Noting her friend's agitation she said through 
her tears : 

"No, tliey don't do that; you don't under- 
stand him." 

"No," broke in the man on the engine, with a 
smile at the credibility of the stranger, "I don't 
mean that they'd kill anybody. They'd simply 
give me my walking papers." 

Turning to the lady the Englishman said : 

"This man is certainly a mystery." 

Then to the engineer: "Am I to understand 
the meaning is that you would be reduced in 
grade; be compelled to walk, as it were?" 

"No, no, I mean that I would simply get the 
G. B." 

"And, pray, what is the G. B.?" 



143 

" Why, the G. B. is the grand bounce ; what 
do you siTppose it is ?" — 

"What is the trouble? What is this dispute 
about? Why is this young woman in tears?" 
asked a portly, pleasant faced man as he 
stepped up, ha^dng been attracted by the dis- 
tressed and anxious countenance of the lady. 

Explanations were hurriedly made, when the 
new arrival said to the engineer, 

"Why don't you take her? It is not too late 
yet." 

"Because I can't." 

"Why can't you?" 

"Because if I do anything like that without 
orders I will get bounced, sure." 

"Who do you get your orders from?" 

"Filmore— J. A. Filmore." 

"Say, you take this girl and put her on that 
train and help her to meet her engagement and 
I'll square it with Filmore." 

"But suppose you can't?" 

"But I can." 

"Are you an officer of the road?" 

"No, but I am a friend of Filmore." 



144 

"Maj- 1 ask your name, please?" 

"Yes, sir; my name is Wheeler, Cy. Wheeler." 

"A member of the firm of Booth & Co.?" 

"That's it. I am that man." 

"But suppose you can't scpiare it with Fil- 
more?" 

"If I can't, you shall not suffer. I will take 
care of you." 

"In what way?" What do you mean?" 

"I mean if you lose your job by favoring me 
I will give you a better one." 

"All right," said the engineer, "get aboard 
here girly and dry your tears. If I don't get 
you there it will be because this locomotiA^e 
can't run, and I think she can." 

"Toot, toot," and she was off, but not before 
grateful thanks had been profusely expressed 
by the young woman whose sorrow had so soon 
been turned to happiness by the bold act of a 
big-hearted man. 

"That was a noble act on your part," said the 
preacher, as the two started to walk away, after 
watching the engine round the curve above the 
old water works and pass out of sight. 



145 

"Yes, but we will not talk about it now," re- 
plied the big, silent member of the firm of 
Booth <k Co., who never relished a discussion 
of his own deeds. " I must go now and see Mr. 
Filmore. I have exposed that engineer to dan- 
ger, and I must protect him, so good day, sir." 

"Good day," said the young Englishman, and 
the two parted. 

The man of the cloth went to his quarters to 
marvel at finding in this far Western land such 
a splendid character as he had discovered in the 
accidental acquaintance of the morning, and in- 
cidentally to cudgle his brain for the meaning of 
the "engine driver," as he called him, in protest- 
ing that he would "lose his head," and be 
"fired," and "bounced," etc. 

While Cy. AYheeler is walking to Filmore's let 
me imi)rove the time to say that he was in his 
day a character as noted as he was popular. 
When his partner, Newton Booth, was running 
for Governor of California his opponents used 
to say they feared Wheeler's popularity more 
than Booth's finished oratory. He did things 
often in a crude wa>' but alwavs with the best 



146 
intentions. Form with him cut no figure. 
"Motives, not methods," might have been his 
motto. He never refused to give money, if the 
cause apj^ealed to him favorabl^^, for want of a 
check book, but would write his order on any 
scrap of pai)er that happened to be hand}^, and 
though his bank protested against this way of 
doing business he persisted in pursuing the 
course that to him was most convenient. It is 
said that he even went so far on one occasion, 
when a friend asked him for a loan at a place 
where there was no paper, as to write a draft 
for $10,000 on a shingle. 

When this man with a heart as big as the 
])roverbial water bucket reached Filmore's office 
he told the latter what he had done and ex- 
plained the circumstances that had prompted 
him to do it. 

The railroad official listened with increasing 
astonishment as the narrative i^roceeded, and 
when Wheeler concluded by saying, "Now I 
want you to forgive that fellow," Filmore replied 
promptly that he could not do it; that he would 
discharge him at once. 



147 

"Tlien," said the merchant, "I will have to 
take him and give him a better job." 

"Would you put a premium on disobedience?" 
asked Filmore. 

"No; just the contrary. He obeyed me and 
I can't allow him to suffer for it." 

"But he was not in your emplo.y." 

" I know it, but it was an emergency case. I 
possibly did wrong, but if so I erred on the side 
of charity, and I'll stand by my act." 

Filmore, who had a pretty big heai*t himself, 
sat as though in deep thought for a few moments 
and then said : 

"See here, Wheeler, this whole proceeding is 
unusual and extraordinary, something unprece- 
dented in my experience, but I will forgive that 
engineer this time ; I, also, will err on the side 
of charity ; but let me tell you, and remember I 
mean it, don't ever do such a thing again." 



CHAPTEE XII. 



A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD HERO. 

TT was in the fifties, in the fall of the year, 
when an emigrant A^agon with the cover 
soiled and tattered from hard usage came into 
Sacramento, the capital cit}' of California. This 
wagon was drawn by three yoke of oxen, which 
were thin and scarred from the dreary trip 
across the plains. Behind the wagon was a 
small herd of loose cattle, consisting mostly of 
young cows, driven by a boy on horseback. 

While yet in the outskirts of the city, the 
wagon turned to the side of the street and 
stopped under the shade of some cottonwood 
trees that then lined the sidewalk. 

Soon after halting a middle-aged woman and 
a very young woman — mother and daughter, 
presumably — left the wagon and started down 
town to do some shopping. 

This family, as I afterward learned, left their 



149 
train a. littlo above Han^^town (now Placorvillo) 
and taking the ridge road had come on alone. 
They passed through Diamond Springs, Mud 
Springs and Michigan Bar, but these were 
small mining camps and afforded little oppor- 
tunity for procuring articles of feminine apparel. 
The journey across the continent in those 
days was accompanied by hardships and dan- 
ger, and nearly all new arrivals could tell thrill- 
ing stories of suffering and adventure. 

In hopes of hearing something interesting I 
stepped across the street and opened conversa- 
tion with the man in charge by asking what 
State he was from, to which he promptly an- 
SAvered, "Iowa." With this much of an intro- 
duction we became engaged in a general con- 
versation. 

The family embraced seven people, father, 
mother and five children, and it was the father 
wdiom I addressed. 

Our talk drifted lightly from one subject to 
another until finally I asked how the children 
stood the hardships of the long journey ? 

"Better than the grown people," was the 



150 
prompt reply. "That bo^- over there," the 
father continued, pointing to the little fellow 
on horseback who drove the loose stock, 
and who was now watching them as they 
browsed on the short grass that grew along the 
edge of the sidewalk, "that boy has driven 
those cattle every day since we started, has 
herded them in the evenings, and from day- 
break until starting time in the mornings, and 
yet if he is tired nobody knoAvs it." 

"He looks like a hardy young fellow," I re- 
plied. 

"Yes, ho is hardy and he is brave, too, if I do 
say it," continued the father. "He saved the 
lives of a yoke of these oxen when not a man 
out of more than twenty in the train would go 
to the rescue." 

This remark aroused my curiosity, so I ques- 
tioned the parent until I got from him the full 
details of his son's exploit. 

I was the more anxious to hear the story on 
account of the boy's appearance, Avhich was 
anything but that of an ideal hero. To me, as 
he sat on that bony horse, he presented a pic- 



151 

turo moro suj^'j^'ostive of comedy than bravery. 
- His light, untrimmed hair protruded in tufts 
through the holes of a hat that slouched until 
you could not tell where the crown ended or 
the brim began. Over an old hickory shirt he 
wore the remnants of a little gray coat, out at 
the elbows, ripped under the arms, and frayed at 
the wrists. His short pants were worn through 
at the knees and torn at the sides. The scratches 
on his bare legs w^ere thicker than the rips in 
his trousers, caused by riding after cattle 
through the brush while coming across the 
Sierras. His feet were bare and caloused like 
an Indian's, and on the insteps there were par- 
tially healed wind-cracks nearly an inch in 
length. His hands were tanned, freckled and 
sore from heat and alkali, his lips were chapped, 
and his face was scaly with sunburned cuticle 
falling off to make room for the new and ten- 
derer growth. 

Under that slouch hat, however, was a Avell 
balanced head, and out of that sunburnt face 
peered two bright and intelligent eyes, while 
that sore mouth revealed lines of character 



152 

which on close inspection imi)ressed one that 
the bo3' had something in liim more than a 
hasty glance at his shabby appearance would 
suggest. 

"You see," said the father, "when we came 
down the Humboldt the river was very high. 
It overflowed its banks and water covered the 
loAV land from three to four feet deep and in 
some places for more than a mile wide. The 
snake-like course of the channel was outlined 
by willows that then lined its banks. Except 
fbr these and an occasional patch of tules or 
bulbrushes that rose above tlie flood, the Hum- 
boldt bottom was one unbroken sea of water. 
The soil in that country contains a great deal 
of alkali, and this in turn impregnates the 
water. Occasionally Ave crossed a small tribu- 
tary stream which came in from the neighbor- 
ing hills, the water of which was comparatively 
fresh, but these were so few and far between 
that most of the time the only water available 
for man or l)east Avas that of the sluggish river. 
This was not very palatable at best, but when 
taken from the main channel where the current 



153 

was strongest, it could be used without being 
boiled. It became necessary, therefore, to se- 
lect our camping places where the river in its 
meanderings left the center of the great over- 
flowed bottom land and cut against the higher 
ground, so the current could be reached with- 
out wading. It was at such a place we turned 
out one day for our noon rest. The oxen were 
unhitched from the wagons and with their 
yokes on were turned loose to drink and graze, 
AA'hile the men and women and children partook 
of their midday meal. At this particular point 
the bank was about six inches above the water. 
Most of the cattle managed, by kneeling, to 
drink without accident, but, whether from a 
cave or not I cannot say, those leaders somehow 
slipped off into the river. Several men were 
standing near, and at once the cry went up that 
the oxen were lost. 

"The Humboldt when high is a very treacher- 
ous stream, by reason of its numerous whirl- 
pools, eddies and under currents, caused by the 
frequent sharp curves in the channel. The 
captain of the company knew its dangerous 



154 

cliaracter and had forbidden auy one from 
bathing in it. 

"When the cattle slipped off the bank they at 
once went entirely under the water, but in a 
moment they came to the surface and, swim- 
ming with the current, which was quite strong 
at this point, they soon passed around the bend 
and out of sight. 

"When the alarm was given Joe came running 
to the river, and seeing what had happened 
excitedly asked why some one did not jump in 
and save those oxen? 

"'I wouldn't jump into that river for forty 
yoke of oxen,' remarked one of the men. 

"'Neither would I,' said another. 

"'No, it would be suicidal,' put in a third. 

"As for me," continued the father, "I cannot 
swim at all, so it was out of the question for 
me to try to do anything. 

"Joe listened a moment to the comments, and 
then without saying a word he ran a little to 
one side and began hurriedly to take off his 
clothes. By this time his mother was coming 
from the camp, and on seeing what he was 



155 

doiu^' she hastened her pace and began to cry 
out : 

'"Stop that boy, stop that boy, I say ! Don't 
let him go in that river! Do yon hear, stop 
him!' 

"The anxiety and fear depicted in her counte- 
nance was agonizing. She was frantic as a 
mother only can be who sees her offspring 
going to what she believes is certain death. 

"But she was too late. I did not know the 
boy could swim a stroke, and was only aroused 
to a suspicion of his intentions by the alarming 
cry of his mother. I then made an attempt to 
reach him, but he slipped from my grasp, and 
pulling off his shirt, the only remaining gar- 
ment, he jumped head first into the swirling, 
turbulent stream. Coming to the surface he 
stnick off in the wake of the cattle and like the 
latter was soon around the bend and out of 
sight. And do you know, the loss of the oxen 
seemed at that moment as nothing, for I felt 
that we would never see our boy again. His 
mother wrung her hands in agonizing grief, the 
other children who had come up in the mean- 



156 

time joined in the weeping, other women shed 
tears out of sympathy, while strong men stood 
looking at one another in silence, having no 
words to express their feelings. 

" Finally, to relieve the awful situation, I called 
out, 'Oh, Joe,' at the top of my voice, thinking 
if he heard me that he would answer back, but 
there was no response. He did hear me as he 
informed us afterwards, but at that moment he 
had come up to the cattle and was too busy in 
freeing them from a watery grave to think of or 
care for anything else. 

"After rounding the bend the river flowed back 
in almost the opposite direction from its course 
where the cattle went off, and in turning for the 
shore towards the camp, which the desperate 
creatures naturally did in a little while, they 
were trying to land on what was really the op- 
posite side of the river. 

"The boy could tell from the wet willows 
where they left the channel, and he followed 
this sign. When only the top of the bnish was 
out of water they could swim over it, but as the 
water became more shallow the willows natur- 



157 

ally stood out higher and stnnigei', and Ijefore 
the poor creatures reached a point in their ef- 
forts to land where they could touch bottom, 
their progress was barred by the strength of the 
willow stalks that pressed in front of the yoke. 
"When Joe came up to them their noses and 
faces w^ere just above the surface, and, though 
l)reathing hard and putting the water from their 
nostrils in a desperate struggle for life, they 
could neitlier go forward nor liackward. The.y 
were in a desperate situation and there the.y 
would certainly have drowned had it not been 
for that boy. He had to get the yoke off be- 
fore they could go forward, and having only 
one hand free to w^ork with, since he reijuired 
the other to keep himself above the water, this 
was a difficult and tedious task. The first ox, 
he says, was released without much trouble, 
but immediately the strong ^A'illows that had 
been bent forward under the strain, straight- 
ened up and pressed the yoke back against the 
side of the other ox, and so twisted the bow on 
his neck that it became almost impossible to 
work it up sufficiently to loosen the key. Pa- 



158 
tience, however, finally rewarded his efforts, 
and in time, — it seemed a long time to us — we 
Avere overjoyed to see him api^ear with the 
cattle behind the brush on the opposite bank. 
They were standing in about four feet of water, 
l)ut they were alive, the boy and the oxen, and 
oh, how happy were we at Avhat we felt was 
their miraculous deliverance. For the moment 
I was so overjoyed that I begged the boy to 
swim across and leave the cattle. But he 
seemed indifferent to my impatience and an- 
swered back that he guessed he had better 
bring the cattle with him, as we might need 
them to get us to California. He drove the 
tired, dripping animals to where the river over- 
flowed its banks on l)oth sides so they would be 
sure of a landing place, and then, starting them 
into the stream he swam below to make sure 
they did not drift with the current and miss the 
point where he knew they could get out with 
safety. As soon as the cattle were across he 
turned and swam back. 

"'What are you doing? Where are you go- 
ing y ' several of us asked. 



159 

"I never will forget how he turned jihnost nn 
his back as he pushed away from us through 
that turbulent stream, and in a tone expressive 
of as much indifference as though he were 
taking a plunge for pleasure, answered back 
that he was going after the yoke. We implored 
him to let the yoke go, but he evidently had 
made up his mind what to do and we were 
powerless to prevent him. It developed that 
he had dragged the yoke through the water to 
the opposite bank of the river and left it float- 
ing where there was no current, while he came 
across with the cattle. He was not long, there- 
fore, in reaching it, and as he emerged from the 
brush, dragging after him the article without 
which he knew the oxen woukl be of little ser- 
vice, with one hand, and supporting himself 
above the water with the other, we again begged 
of him not to jeopardize his life by trying to 
save something which relatively seemed to be 
of little consecpience. Our entreaties had no 
effect. He seemed determined to finish his 
self-assumed task in his own way. For while 
we were begging and beseeching, like the people 



160 

at a hanging who are usnally mnch more ex- 
cited than the chief performer, he pushed out 
into the stream, and holding to the yoke, which 
floated below him, Avith the right hand, he pad- 
dled with his left and came slowly l)ut safely 
across the river. 

"His mother, whose tears of anguish were 
now turned to tears of joy, tried to catch him to 
caress him, but he slipped from her attempted 
embrace, and grabbing u]) his clothes, ran into 
the tules to dress. 

"And do you know, stranger," continued the 
father in a voice expressive of some emotion, 
"without those cattle I do not know how we 
would have gotten through to California. On 
the forty-mile desert, between the sink of the 
Humboldt and the Carson Eiver, the sand is 
very deep and dry and hot, and at times it 
seemed as though three yoke of oxen were not 
going to be able to pull us through. I have 
often thought that if those cattle had drowned 
in the Humboldt Eiver, some of us would have 
left our bones to bleach on the Humboldt 
desert. 



161 

"Where did he learn to swim, do you say? 
That's what I asked him, and he answered, 
anywhere he could find water that was deep 
enough. He tells me also that very often after 
going in swimming he would sit in the sun 
until his hair was dry and then comb it out 
with his fingers for fear I would find it out. I 
shall encourage my smaller boys to learn to 
swim." 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 



OEC 23 \903 



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